The results of various studies have suggested a range of demographic and personality variables that may affect attitudes toward the treatment of nonhuman species; however, the literature has reached little consensus. Various limited populations have used The Attitude to Animals Scale (AAS), developed initially by Herzog, Betchart, and Pittman (1991), as a quantitative measure of attitudes toward the treatment of nonhuman species. The current study administered the AAS to a large community sample within Australia, resulting in approximately 600 respondents. The (...) study found demographic variables such as age, educational level, presence of children in the current dwelling, current, and past companion animal ownership to have no statistically significant effect on AAS scores. The study found both occupation and income to have an effect on AAS scores. This paper examines and discusses all of these variables and their effects (or lack thereof). (shrink)

Attitudes toward the treatment of nonhuman animals in the animal protection community remain largely under researched. In an attempt to begin to rectify this, this study conducted a survey of 407 members of the animal protection community using the Animal Attitude Scale (AAS). The survey also asked participants to indicate whether they identified more with (a) animal rights or animal welfare perspectives and (b) a direct or indirect action approach to securing animal protection. Results of the current study indicate that, (...) regardless of philosophical or practical beliefs, those in the animal protection community were significantly more pro-animal welfare (as measured by the AAS) than members of the general community. This disparity was even greater between the current participants and those of a previous study who identified as being employed in the Primary Industry (PI) sector. This paper discusses implications of this as well as respondents' philosophical and practical views. (shrink)

Paramedics encounter ethical dilemmas at work, and while previous research has improved ethics education and practice, more can be learned from the lived experience of paramedics facing ethical challenges. This paper explores the lived experience of two paramedics, one with five years’ experience, the other twenty, presented with comparable cases. The participants, who were interviewed in a broader qualitative study exploring practical wisdom, were asked to select a case involving ethical decision-making from their own practice experience. Semi-structured interviews employed the (...) five-step Critical Decision Method as a framework to explore various aspects of the decision-making process. The two cases were identified as exemplars of prominent themes suitable for discussion. The findings highlighted several factors that influence paramedic ethical decision-making, including practical wisdom, communication and teamwork, clinical support, and education. This case comparison identifies a greater need to focus education on the fostering of practical wisdom, and the development of non-technical skills such as communication and teamwork, supported by interprofessional education endeavours. Furthermore, greater access to support for paramedics must be available to further evolve practical wisdom. The combination of improved education and support will likely cater for the full spectrum of ethical challenges faced by paramedics in their work. (shrink)

Although the popularity of Humane Education Programs as a method of teaching compassion and caring for all living beings is increasing, there is a need for rigorous, methodologically sound research evaluating the efficacy of HEP. Recent calls for the inclusion of HEP within broader humanistic, environmental, and social justice frameworks underline the importance of HEP beyond a simple “treatment of animals” model. Lack of methodological rigor in the majority of published HEP studies and dispersal across disparate fields , however, means (...) that there is a potential for the popular use of HEP to outstrip our understanding of the variables that impact efficacy. The current study discusses some of these issues and presents a pilot study of a literature-only HEP intervention. Comparisons with an age-matched control group indicated that the four-week HEP resulted in an increase in measures of empathy and treatment of animals, although only the increase in empathy levels was significant. This paper discusses the implications of the current results and areas in need of future consideration. (shrink)

Previous research has examined a range of demographic variables that have been shown to influence an individual’s attitude toward, and in turn their treatment of, animals. Little is known, however, about the effect of certain occupations upon these attitudes. The current study examines attitudes toward animals and the propensity for aggression within a sample of farmers and meatworkers in Queensland, Australia. Recent findings and publicity around the effects of employment (and cases of deliberate animal cruelty) within these industries indicates that (...) this is an area in need of investigation from both human and animal welfare perspectives. The implications of the current findings for the meat-working industry and for the field of human-animal studies are discussed. (shrink)

In Australia, paramedics are obliged to practice ethically. Graduates of baccalaureate degrees in paramedicine should therefore possess a common grounding in ethics to meet the professional capabilities expected of registered paramedics. However, there is a lack of clarity regarding ethics education for paramedicine students, including what is taught, how it is taught, and how it is assessed. This paper explores ethics education for paramedicine students in Australia, how it aligns with current professional expectations, and how it may be enhanced. Point-in-time (...) data regarding ethics education was collected from websites of fifteen Australian universities offering undergraduate baccalaureate degrees in paramedicine. Data collection was supported by consultation with academics from several institutions. Content analysis was utilised to categorise and analyse data to explore similarities and differences in curricula. Similarities included approaches to learning and teaching and the use of case-based learning, with variability found across teaching staff profiles and content areas. Findings suggest it is time for collaboration to develop a model ethics curriculum for paramedicine students in Australia. (shrink)

This study examines the practices of Equine Assisted Therapy and Learning in Australia. Among Equine Assisted Therapy and Equine Assisted Learning centers there is a large degree of variation in practice worldwide. The current study outlines a range of practices in two states in Australia whereeatandealhave arisen and evolved from models developed elsewhere. The philosophical foundations, training and certification processes followed along with the types and training of horses involved are compared across facilities. The findings of the study illustrated the (...) large variation ineatandealin current practice in Australia. The results suggested that if the practices ofeatandealare to move out of the “fringe” of mental health and learning professional practice and into the mainstream, their theoretical underpinnings, certification and licensure procedures, and methodology of practice must become more clearly defined. (shrink)

Recent work combining cognitive neuroscience with computational modelling suggests that distributed patterns of neural firing may represent probability distributions. This paper asks: what makes it the case that distributed patterns of firing, as well as carrying information about (correlating with) probability distributions over worldly parameters, represent such distributions? In examples of probabilistic population coding, it is the way information is used in downstream processing so as to lead to successful behaviour. In these cases content depends on factors beyond bare information, (...) contra Brian Skyrms’ (2010) view that representational content can be fully characterised in information-theoretic terms. (shrink)

Various writers have attempted to use the sender–receiver formalism to account for the representational capacities of biological systems. This article has two goals. First, I argue that the sender–receiver approach to representation cannot be complete. The mammalian circadian system represents the time of day, yet it does not control circadian behaviours by producing signals with time of day content. Informative signalling need not be the basis of our most basic representational capacities. Second, I argue that representational capacities are primarily (...) about control, and only when specific conditions obtain does this control require informative signalling. (shrink)

Skyrms, building on the work of Dretske, has recently developed a novel information-theoretic account of propositional content in simple signalling systems. Information-theoretic accounts of content traditionally struggle to accommodate the possibility of misrepresentation, and I show that Skyrms’s account is no exception. I proceed to argue, however, that a modified version of Skyrms’s account can overcome this problem. On my proposed account, the propositional content of a signal is determined not by the information that it actually carries, but by (...) the information that it would carry at the nearest separating equilibrium of the underlying evolutionary dynamics. I show that this amended account yields reasonable ascriptions of false propositional content in a well-known formal model of the evolution of communication (the ‘Philip Sidney’ game), and close with a discussion of the serious but perhaps not insuperable difficulties we face in applying the account to examples of signalling in the real world. (shrink)

This chapter explores how online communication, particularly on social media, reshapes the reputational incentives that motivate speakers to communicate truthfully. Drawing on costly signalling theory (CST), it examines how online contexts alter the social mechanisms that sustain honest communication. Key characteristics of online spaces are identified and discussed, namely (i) the presence of novel speech acts like reposting, (ii) the gamification of communication, (iii) information overload, (iv) the presence of anonymous and unaccountable sources and (v) the increased reach and (...) persistence of online communication. Both epistemic pitfalls and potential benefits of these features are discussed, identifying promising avenues for further empirical investigation, and underscoring CST's value for understanding and tackling online misinformation. (shrink)

We study some logical interrelationships between fundamental properties in (relativistic) quantum theories. An operational no-signalling condition is first introduced in the context of quantum mechanics, where we prove its equivalence to an apparently weaker version restricted to ideal measurements, and to a property of factorization of the evolution unitary operator. We then translate this condition in quantum field theory and prove that it implies both microcausality and the spin-statistics theorem, in the ideal case of pointwise measurements implemented in the (...) projection postulate sense. This provides an argument (often invoked but apparently missing in the literature) to see microcausality as a necessary condition for the compatibility of spacelike separated operations. (shrink)

Cultural evolutionary models of bargaining can elucidate issues related to fairness and justice, and especially how fair and unfair conventions and norms might arise in human societies. One line of this research shows how the presence of social categories in such models creates inequitable equilibria that are not possible in models without social categories. This is taken to help explain why in human groups with social categories, inequity is the rule rather than the exception. But in previous models, it is (...) typically assumed that these categories are rigid – in the sense that they cannot be altered, and easily observable – in the sense that all agents can identify each others’ category membership. In reality, social categories are not always so tidy. We introduce evolutionary models where the tags connected with social categories can be flexible, variable, or difficult to observe, i.e. where these tags can carry different amounts of information about group membership. We show how alterations to these tags can undermine the stability of unfair conventions. We argue that these results can inform projects intended to ameliorate inequity, especially projects that seek to alter the properties of tags by promoting experimentation, imitation, and play with identity markers. (shrink)

Addicts may simply deny that they are addicted; or they may use self-signalling to try to provide evidence that giving up is not worthwhile. I provide an account that shows how easy it is to provide apparent evidence either that the addiction is so bad that it cannot be escaped; or that there is no real addiction, and hence nothing to escape. I suggest that the most effective way of avoiding this is to avoid self-signalling altogether.

This paper is a short survey of different languageswith imperfect information introduced in (Hintikka and Sandu 1989).The imperfect information concerns both quantifiers and connectives.At the end, I will sketch a connection between these languages and linearlogic.

The purinergic signalling system, which utilises ATP, related nucleotides and adenosine as transmitter molecules, appeared very early in evolution: release mechanisms and ATP‐degrading enzymes are operative in bacteria, and the first specific receptors are present in single cell eukaryotic protozoa and algae. Further evolution of the purinergic signalling system resulted in the development of multiple classes of purinoceptors, several pathways for release of nucleotides and adenosine, and a system of ectonucleotidases controlling extracellular levels of purinergic transmitters. The purinergic (...) signalling system is expressed in virtually all types of tissues and cells, where it mediates numerous physiological reactions and contributes to pathological responses in a variety of diseases. (shrink)

Mehr et al. seek to explain music's evolution in terms of a unitary proper function – signalling cooperative intent – which they cash out in two guises, coalition signalling and parental attention signalling. Although we recognize the role signalling almost certainly played in the evolution of music, we reject “ultimate” causal explanations which focus on a unidirectional, narrow range of causal factors.

Mentioning products or brands on Facebook enables individuals to display an ideal self to others through a form of virtual conspicuous consumption. Drawing on conspicuous donation behaviour literature, we investigate ‘conspicuous virtue signalling’, as conspicuous consumption on Facebook. CVS occurs when an individual mentions a charity on their Facebook profile. We investigate need for uniqueness and attention to social comparison information as antecedents of two types of CVS–self-oriented and other-oriented. We also explore the relationship between CVS and self-esteem, and (...) offline prosocial and unethical behaviour intentions. Data from two studies, a college survey and an adult survey via MTurk, were analysed using structural equation modelling. Results indicate that NFU predicts both forms of CVS, while ATSCI influences both forms of CVS for adults and other-oriented CVS for students. Self-esteem is enhanced by self-oriented CVS. Self-oriented CVS predicts donation intention whereas other-oriented CVS significantly reduces donation intention for both samples. Furthermore, a significant relationship between CVS and purchase intention of counterfeit luxury goods is revealed. Findings provide insights into conspicuous virtue signalling and the relationship between CVS on Facebook and offline behavioural intentions. (shrink)

At fertilization in mammals the sperm activates the egg by triggering a series of oscillations in the intracellular free Ca2+ concentration. The precise sequence of events that occur between sperm‐egg contact and the increases in intracellular Ca2+ remains unknown. Here, we discuss recent evidence supporting the hypothesis that a cytosolic sperm protein enters the egg after gamete membrane fusion and triggers Ca2+ oscillations from within the egg cytoplasm. Biochemical studies suggest that there exists a novel sperm protein, named oscillin, that (...) specifically comigrates with Ca2+ oscillation‐inducing activity. Oscillin has been immunolocalised to the region of the sperm that first fuses with the egg. The concept of a specific protein that triggers Ca2+ oscillations may have wider physiological significance since sperm oscillin can induce Ca2+ oscillations in somatic cells, such as neurons and hepatocytes. Unravelling the novel signalling system involved in mammalian fertilization may help reveal some fundamental molecular mechanisms responsible for triggering cytoplasmic Ca2+ oscillations. (shrink)

Cell proliferation in response to growth factors is mediated by specific high affinity receptors. Ligand‐binding by receptors of the protein tyrosine kinase family results in the stimulation of several intracellular signal transduction pathways. Key signalling enzymes are recruited to the plasma membrane through the formation of stable complexes with activated receptors. These interactions are mediated by the conserved, non‐catalytic SH2 domains present in the signalling molecules, which bind with high affinity and specificity to tyrosine‐phosphorylated sequences on the receptors. (...) The assembly of enzyme complexes is emerging as a major mechanism of signal transduction and may regulate the pleiotropic effects of growth factors. (shrink)

The problem of cooperation for rational actors comprises two sub problems: the problem of the intentional object (under what description does each actor perceive the situation?) and the problem of common knowledge for finite minds (how much belief iteration is required?). I will argue that subdoxastic signalling can solve the problem of the intentional object as long as this is confined to a simple coordination problem. In a more complex environment like an assurance game signals may become unreliable. Mutual (...) beliefs can then bolster the earlier attained equilibrium. I will first address these two problems by means of an example, in order to draw some more general lessons about combining evolutionary theory and rationality later on. (shrink)

In aggressive interactions, animals often use a discrete set of signals, while the properties being signalled are likely to be continuous, for example fighting ability or value of victory. Here we investigate a particular model of fighting which allows for conventional signalling of subjective resource value to occur. The result shows that neither perfect nor no signalling are evolutionarily stable strategies in the model. Instead, we find ESSs in which partial information is communicated, with discrete displays signalling (...) a range of values rather than a precise one. The result also indicates that communication should be more precise in conflicts over small resources. Signalling strategies can exist in fighting because of the common interest in avoiding injuries, but communication is likely to be limited because of the fundamental conflict over the resource. Our results reflect a compromise between these two factors. Data allowing for a thorough test of the model are lacking; however, existing data seem consistent with the obtained theoretical results. (shrink)

This article is an inquiry into the discourse phenomenon of grounding, viz. the foreground-background structure. It explains the place of the phenomenon in the structure of discourse and provides evidence of grounding from short news items. Focusing on the surface structure level of discourse organization, the article examines variant marking of the FG-BG articulation at sentence-initial position. Using English and Arabic news data, the article explicates the grounding-signalling function of entities that appear in that position and shows that Arabic (...) news texts rely on certain prefatory expressions to signal the grounding values of underlying propositions. The study underscores the influence of the cognitive level of information on grounding and its marking in the hierarchical structure of discourse. (shrink)

Specification of the anterior‐posterior axis of the Drosophila embryo is brought about by the asymmetric localization of specific maternally expressed RNAs and proteins within the oocyte. While many of these localized molecules have been identified and progress has been made towards understanding their functions, how the localization process is instigated remains unclear. A recent paper reports that protein kinase A (PKA) activity is essential for many of these RNA localizations and for the correct polarization of the microtubule cytoskeleton(1). These and (...) other results support a model for anterior‐posterior axis establishment which involves intercellular signalling between the oocyte and certain neighbouring somatic cells. (shrink)

PDZ (also called DHR or GLGF) domains are found in diverse membraneassociated proteins including members of the MAGUK family of guanylate kinase homologues, several protein phosphatases and kinases, neuronal nitric oxide synthase, and several dystrophin‐associated proteins, collectively known as syntrophins. Many PDZ domain‐containing proteins appear to be localised to highly specialised submembranous sites, suggesting their participation in cellular junction formation, receptor or channel clustering, and intracellular signalling events. PDZ domains of several MAGUKs interact with the C‐terminal polypeptides of a (...) subset of NMDA receptor subunits and/or with Shaker‐type K+ channels. Other PDZ domains have been shown to bind similar ligands of other transmembrane receptors. Recently, the crystal structures of PDZ domains, with and without ligand, have been determined. These demonstrate the mode of ligand‐binding and the structural bases for sequence conservation among diverse PDZ domains. (shrink)

The formation of blood vessels within the vascular system entails a variety of cellular processes, including proliferation, migration and differentiation. In many cases, these diverse processes need to be finely coordinated among neighbouring endothelial cells in order to establish a functional vascular network. For instance, during angiogenic sprouting specialized endothelial tip cells follow guidance cues and migrate extensively into avascular tissues while trailing stalk cells must stay connected to the patent blood vessel. The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and Notch (...) signalling pathways have emerged as the major players in governing these different cellular behaviours. In particular, recent work indicates an important role for Notch signalling in determining how an endothelial cell responds to VEGF. In this review, we provide an overview of these biochemically distinct pathways and discuss how they may interact during endothelial cell differentiation and angiogenesis. BioEssays 30:303–313, 2008. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

The discovery of the first intracellular substrate for insulin, IRS‐1, redirected the field of diabetes research and has led to many important advances in our understanding of insulin action. Detailed analysis of IRS‐1 demonstrates structure/function relationships for this modular docking molecule, including mechanisms of substrate recognition and signal propagation. Recent work has also identified other structurally similar molecules, including IRS‐2, the Drosophila protein, DOS, and the Grb2‐binding protein, Gab1, suggesting that this intracellular signalling strategy is conserved evolutionarily and is (...) utilized by an expanding number of receptor systems. In fact, IRS‐1 itself has been shown to be important in other growth factor and cytokine signalling systems, including growth hormone and several interleukins. Analysis of mice lacking IRS‐1 confirms an important physiological role for this protein in glucose metabolism and general cell growth in the intact animal. Disregulation of the signalling pathways integrated by the IRS proteins may contribute to the pathophysiology of non‐insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus or other diseases. (shrink)

It is a frequent assumption that—via superluminal information transfers—superluminal signals capable of enabling communication are necessarily exchanged in any quantum theory that posits hidden superluminal influences. However, does the presence of hidden superluminal influences automatically imply superluminal signalling and communication? The non-signalling theorem mediates the apparent conflict between quantum mechanics and the theory of special relativity. However, as a ‘no-go’ theorem there exist two opposing interpretations of the non-signalling constraint: foundational and operational. Concerning Bell’s theorem, we argue (...) that Bell employed both interpretations, and that he finally adopted the operational position which is associated often with ontological quantum theory, e.g., de Broglie–Bohm theory. This position we refer to as “effective non-signalling”. By contrast, associated with orthodox quantum mechanics is the foundational position referred to here as “axiomatic non-signalling”. In search of a decisive communication-theoretic criterion for differentiating between “axiomatic” and “effective” non-signalling, we employ the operational framework offered by Shannon’s mathematical theory of communication, whereby we distinguish between Shannon signals and non-Shannon signals. We find that an effective non-signalling theorem represents two sub-theorems: Non-transfer-control theorem, and Non-signification-control theorem. Employing NTC and NSC theorems, we report that effective, instead of axiomatic, non-signalling is entirely sufficient for prohibiting nonlocal communication. Effective non-signalling prevents the instantaneous, i.e., superluminal, transfer of message-encoded information through the controlled use—by a sender-receiver pair —of informationally-correlated detection events, e.g., in EPR-type experiments. An effective non-signalling theorem allows for nonlocal quantum information transfer yet—at the same time—effectively denies superluminal signalling and communication. (shrink)

This paper argues that extant signalling-based analyses cannot explain a range of cases of biological (and psychological) deception, such as those in which the deceiver does not send a signal at all, but that Artiga and Paternotte’s (Philos Stud 175:579–600, 2018) functional and my (Krstić in The analysis of self-deception: rehabilitating the traditionalist account. PhD Dissertation, University of Auckland, 2018: §3; Krstić and Saville in Australas J Philos 97:830–835, 2019) manipulativist analyses can. Therefore, the latter views should be given (...) preference. And because we still do not have a satisfactory definition of manipulation, the functional analysis, according to which a state is deceptive iff its function is to mislead and it misleads, is currently our best theory of deception. This is not to argue that the signalling-based analyses have no value but only that they should not be used in general analyses of biological deception. We need to move on to some other interesting issues. (shrink)

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) organelle is the key intracellular site of both protein and lipid biosynthesis. ER dysfunction, termed ER stress, can result in protein accretion within the ER and cell death; a pathophysiological process contributing to a range of metabolic diseases and cancers. ER stress leads to the activation of a protective signalling cascade termed the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR). However, chronic UPR activation can ultimately result in cellular apoptosis. Emerging evidence suggests that cells undergoing ER stress and (...) UPR activation can release extracellular signals that can propagate UPR activation to target tissues in a cell non‐autonomous signalling mechanism. Separately, studies have determined that the UPR plays a key regulatory role in the biosynthesis of bioactive signalling lipids including sphingolipids and ceramides. Here we weigh the evidence to combine these concepts and propose that during ER stress, UPR activation drives the biosynthesis of ceramide lipids, which are exported and function as cell non‐autonomous signals to propagate UPR activation in target cells and tissues. (shrink)

Signalling games are popular models for studying the evolution of meaning, but typical approaches do not incorporate vagueness as a feature of successful signalling. Complementing recent like-minded models, we describe an aggregate population-level dynamic that describes a process of imitation of successful behaviour under imprecise perception and realization of similar stimuli. Applying this new dynamic to a generalization of Lewis’s signalling games, we show that stochastic imprecision leads to vague, yet by-and-large efficient signal use, and, moreover, that (...) it unifies evolutionary outcomes and helps avoid sub-optimal categorization. The upshot of this is that we see ‘as-if’-generalization at an aggregate level, without agents actually generalizing. _1_ Introduction _2_ Background _2.1_ Sim-max games and conceptual spaces _2.2_ Vagueness in sim-max games and conceptual spaces _2.3_ Vagueness, functional pressure, and transmission biases _3_ Imprecise Imitation _3.1_ Replicator dynamic in behavioural strategies _3.2_ Noise-perturbed conditional imitation _4_ Exploring Imprecise Imitation _4.1_ Setting the stage _4.2_ Simulation set-up _4.3_ Measures of interest _4.4_ Results _5_ Discussion _5.1_ Levels of vagueness _5.2_ Evolutionary benefits of imprecision _5.3_ Related work _6_ Conclusion Appendix. (shrink)

Evoke is a Python library for evolutionary simulations of signalling games. It offers a simple and intuitive API that can be used to analyze arbitrary game-theoretic models, and to easily reproduce and customize well-known results and figures from the literature.

According to the causal interpretation of quantum mechanics, one can precisely define the state of an individual particle in a many-body system by its position, momentum, and spin. It is shown in the EPR spin experiment that the quantum torque brings about an instantaneous change in the state of one of the particles when the other undergoes a local interaction, but that such a transfer of “information” cannot be extracted by any experiment subject to the laws of quantum mechanics.

Recent experimental evidence suggests that human subjects use a win–stay/lose–shift with inertia learning dynamics (WSLSwI) to establish signalling conventions in the context of Lewis signalling games. Here we consider the virtues and vices of this low-rationality dynamics. Most saliently, WSLSwI is much faster than simple reinforcement learning in establishing conventions. It is also more reliable in producing optimal signalling systems. And it exhibits a high degree of the stability characteristic of a reinforcement dynamics. We consider how increasing (...) inertia may increase speed in finding optimal conventions under this dynamics, the virtues of cognitive diversity, and how the dynamics meshes with high-order rationality. In brief, WSLSwI is extremely well suited to establishing conventions. That human subjects use it for this purpose is a remarkable adaptation. (shrink)

Neuronal signalling involves multiple neuropeptides that are diverse in structure and function. Complex patterns of tissue‐specific expression arise from alternate RNA splicing of neuropeptide‐encoding gene transcripts. The pattern of expression and its role in cell signalling is diffecult to study at the level of single neurons in the complex vertebrate brain. However, in the model molluscan system, Lymnaea, it is possible to show that alternate mRNA expression of the FMRFamide gene is specific to single identified neurons. Two different (...) transcripts are expressed in a mutually exclusive manner in different neurons. Post‐translational processing of the two precursor proteins leads to completely distinct sets of neuropeptide transmitters. The function of these transmitter cocktails, resulting from alternate mRNA splicing, was studied physiologically in identified neurons forming part of a behaviourally important network regulating heartbeat. (shrink)

I analyze a number of the quantum no-signalling proofs (Ghirardi et al. 1980, Bussey 1982, Jordan 1983, Shimony 1985, Redhead 1987, Eberhard and Ross 1989, Sherer and Busch 1993). These purport to show that the EPR correlations cannot be exploited for transmitting signals, i.e., are not causal. First, I show that these proofs can be mathematically unified; they are disguised versions of a single theorem. Second, I argue that these proofs are circular. The essential theorem relies upon the tensor (...) product representation for combined systems, which has no physical basis in the von Neumann axioms. Historically, the construction of this representation scheme by von Neumann and Weyl built no-signalling assumptions into the quantum theory. Signalling between the wings of the EPR-Bell experiments is unlikely but is not ruled out empirically by the class of proofs considered. (shrink)

One of the moral questions concerning autonomous vehicles (henceforth AVs) is the choice between types that differ in their built-in algorithms for dealing with rare situations of unavoidable lethal collision. It does not appear to be possible to avoid questions about how these algorithms should be designed. We present the results of our study of moral preferences (N = 2769) with respect to three types of AVs: (1) selfish, which protects the lives of passenger(s) over any number of bystanders; (2) (...) altruistic, which minimizes the number of casualties, even if this leads to death of passenger(s); and (3) conservative, which abstains from interfering in such situations. We differentiate between scenarios in which participants are to make their decisions privately or publicly, and for themselves or for their offspring. We aim to answer two research questions: (1) whether the public visibility of the choice of an AV type choice make this choice more altruistic and (2) which type of situation makes it more difficult to choose altruistically: when choosing for society as a whole, when choosing only for oneself, or when choosing only for one’s offspring. Our results show that respondents exhibit a preference for an altruistic strategy for AVs and that it is reinforced when signaled to others. The altruistic preference is strongest when applies to everybody else, weaker when it reflects a solely personal choice, and weakest when choosing for one’s own child. We conclude that a public choice is considerably more likely to pressure consumers into accepting a more socially beneficial solution. (shrink)

This paper applies the theoretical criteria laid out by D’Arms et al. to various aspects of evolutionary models of signalling. The question that D’Arms et al. seek to answer can be formulated as follows: Are the models that we use to explain the phenomena in question conceptually adequate? The conceptual adequacy question relates the formal aspects of the model to those aspects of the natural world that the model is supposed to capture. Moreover, this paper extends the analysis of (...) D’Arms et al. by asking the following additional question: Are the models that we use sufficient to explain the phenomena in question? The sufficiency question asks what formal resources are minimally required for the model to get the right results most of the time. (shrink)

In this paper and its sequel, I consider the significance of Jarrett’s and Shimony’s analyses of the so-called factorisability condition for clarifying the nature of quantum non-locality. In this paper, I focus on four types of non-locality: superluminal signalling, action-at-a-distance, non-separability and holism. In the second paper, I consider a fifth type of non-locality: superluminal causation according to ‘logically weak’ concepts of causation, where causal dependence requires neither action nor signalling. In this connection, I pay special attention to (...) the difficulties that superluminal causation raises in relativistic space–time. I conclude by evaluating the relevance of Jarrett’s and Shimony’s analyses for clarifying the question of the compatibility of quantum non-locality with relativity theory. My main conclusions are, first: these analyses are significant for clarifying the questions of superluminal signalling in quantum phenomena and for the compatibility of these phenomena with relativity. But, second, by contrast: these analyses are not very significant for the study of action-at-a distance, superluminal causation, non-separability and holism in quantum phenomena. (shrink)

The mitogenic action of cytokines such as epidermal growth factor (EGF)d̊ or platelet dericed growth factor (PDGF) involves the stimulation of a signal cascade controlled by a small G protein called Ras. Mutations of Ras can cause its constitutive activation and, as a consequence, bypass the regulation of cell growth by cytokines. Both growth factor‐induced and oncogenic activation of Ras involve the conversion of Ras from the GDP‐bound (D‐Ras) to the GTP‐bound (T‐Ras) forms. T‐Ras activates a network of protein kinases (...) including c‐Mos, c‐Raf‐1 and MAP kinase. Eventually the activation of MAP kinase leads to the activation of the elongation factor 4E and several transcription factors such as c‐Jun, c‐Myc and c‐Fos. There are several modulators of Ras activity, such as the GTPase activating proteins (GAP1 and NF1), which stimulate the coversion of T‐Ras to D‐Ras. A series of small NF1 fragments, which bind T‐Ras, as well as truncated forms or derivatives of c‐Raf‐1, c‐Jun and c‐Myc, are capable of blocking the T‐Ras‐activated mitogenesis in a competitive manner. These agents offer a unique opportunity to control the proliferation of T‐Ras‐associated tumors, which represent more than 30% of total human carcinomas. (shrink)

“Symbolic legislation” is often used to refer to laws that are ineffective, that is, instrumentally inadequate in achieving their declared or expected purposes. It is often associated with lawmakers deceiving citizens about their actual aims, as when they legislate only to alleviate social pressure rather than to address social problems. However, more often than not, symbolic legislation involves no legislative intent to deceive, as when a law is not symbolic from the outset but becomes so later. A novel definition of (...) “symbolic legislation” will be offered, making no reference to irrationality or deception and focusing instead on the prevalence of symbolic functions. These functions are those that laws perform when they are not interpreted according to legal-specialistic codes but according to different codes provided by extra-legal social norms. A classification of these functions is proposed, based on whether they rely entirely on pre-existing codes (as in symbolic signalling, including virtue signalling) or modify those codes by creating new symbols or changing their social meanings. In some cases, the prevalence of symbolic functions overshadows the laws’ lack of effectiveness: citizens are led by “expressive” concerns into what Newig has called “societal self-deception” regarding the instrumental adequacy of the laws they support. Although various alternative accounts of self-deception have been offered, it will be held that, when symbolic legislation is associated with societal self-deception, it fosters the propagation of identifiable epistemic vices within the community. (shrink)