Aesthetic Negativity and Aisthetic Traits

Abstract

This article concerns the notion of aesthetic negativity, and related ideas regarding the autonomy of art. After giving some initial definitions and a brief historical sketch of these concepts, we will examine the definition proposed by arguably the greatest thinker of aesthetic negativity, Theodor Adorno, and its recent semiotic reconstruction in the work of Christoph Menke. This reconstruction configures aesthetic negativity and autonomy jointly as the capacity of artworks, and the experiences that they occasion; to processurally negate “automatic” modes of understanding. This account is then critiqued, and contrasted with views on aesthetic experience that stress its nonconceptual and asemiotic aspects, and the close affinity of this modality of experience with perceptual presence and affective intensity, with a clear reference to the phenomenological tradition. Some recent ideas about how semiotic and phenomenological theories regarding art can interact are then cited, and an undertheorized aspect of their connection introduced, which is the main original import of the article. This connection, which is furnished by the concept of aisthetic trait, is derived from psychoanalytic metapsychology, and is an example of how the meaning and presence effects of art can act not just in a competing synchronic fashion, but can morph into each other over time. A trait is a signifier-like perceptual remnant of a prior subjective experience of high intensity that provides a kind of ratification of the experience that endures within the life history of an individual. This is then shown to have relevance to the previous topics of aesthetic negativity and autonomy in terms of the way that the trait mechanism may bring to light important diachronic aspects of aesthetic experience that are currently absent in other accounts in the literature.     

The Effect of Lineup Member Similarity on Recognition Accuracy in Simultaneous and Sequential Lineups

Two experiments investigated whether remembering is affected by the similarity of the study face relative to the alternatives in a lineup. In simultaneous and sequential lineups, choice rates and false alarms were larger in low compared to high similarity lineups, indicating criterion placement was affected by lineup similarity structure (Experiment 1). In Experiment 2, foil choices and similarity ranking data for target present lineups were compared to responses made when the target was removed from the lineup (only the 5 foils were presented). The results indicated that although foils were selected more often in target-removed lineups in the simultaneous compared to the sequential condition, responses shifted from the target to one of the foils at equal rates across lineup procedures.     

Female student athletes’ perceptions of acceptability and the occurrence of sexual-related behaviour by their coaches in India

The current study assessed the perceptions of acceptable sexual behaviour of coaches and the occurrence of sexual harassment among female student in India. A sample of 180 Indian female student-athletes at intercollegiate and inter-university levels with male coaches participated in this study. A questionnaire on sport-specific Touch and Behaviour versus Unwanted Intimacy from coaches (Vanden Auweele et al., 2008), consisting of 41 items on a 5-point rating scale was used. The participants were asked to indicate the acceptability of specific coaching behaviour as well as the occurrence of the behaviour represented in each item. The acceptability of the behaviour was determined by means and standard deviations, while the occurrence was determined by frequencies. Factor analysis was performed to determine the structure of the coaches’ behaviour and athletes’ acceptability thereof, which yielded four factors. Cronbach’s alpha was used to determine the internal consistency of the extracted items on each factor. Two factors, namely, unwanted sexual behaviour and inappropriate verbal and physical sexual behaviour, were regarded by athletes as very serious and unacceptable coach behaviour, while a third factor represented context-dependent suspicious behaviour (a grey area in which athletes differ in their opinion) and was perceived to be serious and unacceptable. A fourth factor represented acceptable behaviour. The occurrence of very serious and unacceptable behaviour was reported by 31% of the female athletes.     

In Search of the Holy Grail in Public Service: A Study on the Mediating Effect of Public Service Motivation on Organizational Politics and Outcomes

ABSTRACT

There appears to be a research gap in terms of examining whether PSM will hold fast even in the midst of a politically charged work environment. This article investigates how highly motivated government employees would react to the potentially adverse effects of political perception (POP) on organizational commitment, job satisfaction and workplace stress. The findings indicated that PSM exists among the respondent municipal social workers in the Philippines and that this motivation directly translates to positive outcomes. However, PSM did not have the expected mediating effect which is a departure from the commonly held view about its buffering power and mitigating role.     

议题性质、威胁认知、共同利益与“可合作安全”

通过合作促进安全的理念越来越成为国际社会的共识。但是,在当前的国际安全合作中,普遍存在“多愿望,少行动”的现象。由于安全概念的泛化,国际社会几乎在所有安全问题上都表达出希望通过合作的方式来解决问题的意愿。但实际上,很多安全问题不可合作。“可合作安全”的概念是基于议题性质、威胁认知和共同利益的一种预设的状态。对议题性质的认定是安全合作的前提条件。如果安全合作对象在议题性质的认定方面观点不一致,那么安全合作不可实现;反之,安全合作是可能实现的。在安全合作对象关于议题性质观点一致的基础上,安全合作主要受威胁认知和共同利益两个因素的影响。如果安全合作的对象彼此威胁认知越小,且在应对安全威胁方面的共同利益越多,那么安全合作越可能实现;如果安全合作对象彼此威胁认知越大,且在应对安全威胁方面的共同利益越少,那么安全合作越难实现、甚至不可合作。“可合作安全”在应对安全威胁的实践中,可以为有关部门在什么问题上合作、与谁合作等提供思路,使国际安全合作更具针对性和目的性。     

Wang Xinggong’s Aesthetics——A Science Orienting at Art Research

Asa pioneer, Wang Xionggong stands out among modern Chinese aesthetics schools, due to his adherence to science-dominated aesthetics, in contrast with Liang Qichao, Cai Yuanpei and Wang Guowei who are devoted to humanistic aesthetics, and Zhu Guangqian and Zong Baihua who combine humanism and science. Regrettably, researches into Wang’s aesthetic theory are far from deep. Wang advocates thataesthetics is an art-research science, and beauty is strictly defined as senses and feelings. So his aesthetics is a scientific research of aesthetic perception. By analyzing his attachment to objective materials such as masculinity, inclusiveness, expanse, multitude, mobility, orderliness and connectedness, he is proven to belong to the school of blending and balancing the objective and the subjective, accepting the ‘external objects’ as prerequisite for aesthetic materials, and insisting on the subjective processing and its results, equating art to beautyfinally. Wang’s aesthetics is confined to empiricism despite his mentioning of aesthetic perception ascending to rational realm. Thus, he is characterized by highlighting logic and science while neglecting the metaphysics within spiritual science.     

Message effects on the perceptions of the fairness of gender-based affirmative action: A cognitive response theory-based analysis

The controversy surrounding the implementation of affirmative action interventions in organizations underscores the importance of understanding fairness perceptions of such policies. There is a need for research on the variables which influence evaluations of affirmative action policies and on whether the content of organizational communications can alter these evaluations. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of proaffirmative action and antiaffirmative action communications on fairness evaluations. Cognitive response theory was used as a framework for predicting reactions to pro- and antipreferential treatment messages and subsequent fairness perceptions. While the results indicated that cognitive responses added to the prediction of fairness judgments, initial attitude, and message content also had strong effects on the fairness judgments.     

我国刑事诉讼中意见证据规则适用的实证分析

实证研究表明,我国法官在刑事诉讼中运用意见证据时存在标准不统一的问题。其主要原因在于,刑事诉讼法针对意见证据采用的“原则＋例外”的体例,使得例外的表述过于笼统。通过实证分析,并借鉴域外意见证据规则的规定,本文主张,只有建立在亲历感知基础上所作出的推断、评论或者猜测,才有可能被采纳为证据使用。因此,应当进一步完善我国现有的刑事意见证据规则。     

《吴淞日记》与近代日本人的中国认识

岸田吟香是近代早期与中国关系最为深切的日本人之一,1866年初次来上海时,居住了七个多月,留下了一部《吴淞日记》,这大概是除“千岁丸”一行的相关报告之外,当年日本人有关上海和中国的最珍贵的文献。本文据此梳理并探讨了这一时期日本人对中国的认识,并对亚洲主义者岸田吟香一流的思想脉络做了深入的分析。     

Perceived Discrimination Among Women in Law Enforcement

ABSTRACT

This work explores the depth and dimensions of gender-based discrimination as perceived by female police officers. Using snowball sampling, 27 currently employed female law-enforcement officers in a large metropolitan area of the Southwest were interviewed. Qualitative data analysis techniques were used to analyze the findings and to extract the themes that emerged from the women's perceptions of discrimination coming from their male peers, from male supervisors or administrators, and from citizens of both sexes. Most of thepolicewomen interviewed reported experiencing discrimination from one or all of these sources. However, almost without exception, they saw their situation today as improved over that of the past policewomen. No consistent differences in perceptions emerged related toage, race-ethnicity, rank, employer, or length of service.