Intellectual Curiosity Research Articles

Some Thoughts on the State of Secularity in the Lowlands

According to Peter Berger, “explaining European secularity, especially its contrast with the United States, is one of the most interesting topics for study.” As an American expat and scholar of contemporary American literature, this essay will address my own “intellectual curiosity” about European secularity: what kind of work it fosters and enables, and what it does not. In particular, I will focus on the pervasive secular “progress narrative” that continues to be protected and preserved in different academic departments at universities in Belgium and The Netherlands for various historical and cultural reasons, including those related to depillarization and laïcité.

1A2-C4 幼年期の知的好奇心と科学絵本 : 日常の絵本読書習慣と教室での読み聞かせ実践の相互作用(科学の世界へ誘う絵本の可能性を探る,課題研究,次世代の科学力を育てる : 社会とのグラウンディグを進展させるために)

1A2-C4 幼年期の知的好奇心と科学絵本 : 日常の絵本読書習慣と教室での読み聞かせ実践の相互作用(科学の世界へ誘う絵本の可能性を探る,課題研究,次世代の科学力を育てる : 社会とのグラウンディグを進展させるために)

Reopening Openness to Experience: A Network Analysis of Four Openness to Experience Inventories

ABSTRACTOpenness to Experience is a complex trait, the taxonomic structure of which has been widely debated. Previous research has provided greater clarity of its lower order structure by synthesizing facets across several scales related to Openness to Experience. In this study, we take a finer grained approach by investigating the item-level relations of four Openness to Experience inventories (Big Five Aspects Scale, HEXACO–100, NEO PI–3, and Woo et al.'s Openness to Experience Inventory), using a network science approach, which allowed items to form an emergent taxonomy of facets and aspects. Our results (N = 802) identified 10 distinct facets (variety-seeking, aesthetic appreciation, intellectual curiosity, diversity, openness to emotions, fantasy, imaginative, self-assessed intelligence, intellectual interests, and nontraditionalism) that largely replicate previous findings as well as three higher order aspects: two that are commonly found in the literature (intellect and experiencing; i.e., openness), and one novel aspect (open-mindedness). In addition, we demonstrate that each Openness to Experience inventory offers a unique conceptualization of the trait, and that some inventories provide broader coverage of the network space than others. Our findings establish a broader consensus of Openness to Experience at the aspect and facet level, which has important implications for researchers and the Openness to Experience inventories they use.

In Memoriam: Sidney George Shaw, DPhil (1948-2017)

On March 4, 2017 at the age of 68, Sidney George Shaw (Sid) unexpectedly died from complications following surgery, only four years after retiring from the University of Bern. Trained in biochemistry at Oxford University, Sid had quickly moved into molecular pharmacology and became a key investigator in the field of enzyme biochemistry, vasoactive peptide research, and receptor signaling. Sid spent half his life in Switzerland, after moving to the University of Bern in 1984. This article, written by his friends and colleagues who knew him and worked with him during different stages of his career, summarizes his life, his passions, and his achievements in biomedical research. It also includes personal memories relating to a dear friend and outstanding scientist whose intellectual curiosity, humility, and honesty will remain an example to us all.

TEACHING VALUES: A STUDY OF UNDERSTANDING OF VALUES OF STUDENT TEACHERS

The most important element in the learning environment is invisible. It is made up of the values, attitudes, and actions that our classes and we take part in every day. As the teacher, you can exemplify the values that lead to intellectual curiosity and learning, and you can foster those values in the children in your class. The ways that you interact with children can establish the classroom as a place that nurtures investigation and experiment, hard work, and appreciation for the unique abilities of each learner. The ways that you set up for children to interact also contribute to the daily creation of the learning environment. Values are intimately connected to motives. These connections are complex and ultimately personal, and therefore not completely understandable. They are connected to our sense of wants and needs, and I believe that they need not be justified to be valid. Values are the context, the cognitive and emotional matrix that is different for each human being, but which provides enough generality to have universal applications. I believe that each human being, touching another through common values, can change, and even improve the world. However, when values and value systems collide, the worst potentials of man are often realized. Let us try to find out that if values are so important and the TEACHERS are shaping the destiny of nation in the classroom then what kind of value system our student teachers have in their mind.

Wörterbücher im Unterricht nutzen und eigene Wörterbuchartikel erstellen. Das Denkwerk-Projekt Schüler machen Wörterbücher – Wörterbücher machen Schule

Abstract The article shows how the topic of dictionaries can be dealt with in German language teaching and how this subject has the potential to acquaint learners with a descriptive and data-driven perspective on language. The project Denkwerk, realized as cooperation among the Institute for German Language, the University of Mannheim and two regional secondary schools, fostered the students’ intellectual curiosity and their interest in discovering linguistic details. Using empirical methods like corpus analysis, pupils learned both how to write wiki-based dictionary articles on their own and how to publish them in the Denktionary, the dictionary of the project. Our contribution describes the didactic and organisational framework of the project, its aims and contents, its schedule of events, as well as the structure of dictionary articles in the Denktionary, and the observed advantages of such a wikibased system.

The Madness of Cambyses: Herodotus and the Problem of Inquiry

Abstract In his evaluation of the mad despot Cambyses, Herodotus proclaims that preference for one’s own culture persists after examination. This paper examines how Herodotus’ treatment of Cambyses reveals the insidious ways that thought is bounded by cultural attachments. Blindness to one’s attachments spurs the drive to empire by covering and justifying expansionist appetites. Herodotus’ treatment of Cambyses’ imperialist inquiries will thus not only implicate the Persians, but raise unsettling questions about the Hellenes’ own appetites. Herodotus offers his own methods of inquiry as an alternative. Rather than denying appetite and rendering it subterranean, Herodotus suggests that inquiry must be motivated by the quest for self-knowledge – understanding the diversity of the world helps reveal the fuller contours of human nature. Herodotus’ storytelling engages affect by provoking the intellectual curiosity of his audience. It promises that expansionist appetites can be rehabilitated into genuine curiosity and openness to difference.

Ingrid Scheffer: improving patient outcomes in epilepsy

Ingrid Scheffer: improving patient outcomes in epilepsy

Exploring shy minds: Relations between shyness and creativity

The relation between shyness and creativity has not been fully elucidated. The aim of present study was to examine if shy individuals express their creativity in different ways, as indexed by the relation between shyness and open-mindedness and its three facets: intellectual curiosity, aesthetic sensitivity, and creative imagination. We analyzed two separate structural equation models: first treating overall open-mindedness as a predictor of shyness, and the second in which we examined the three separate facets of open-mindedness (i.e., intellectual curiosity, aesthetic sensitivity, and creative imagination). Young adults (N = 727, Mage = 22.19 years) self-reported their levels of shyness and the three facets of open-mindedness. Results revealed that although shyness was unrelated to the broader construct of open-mindedness, the differentiation of the open-mindedness facets resulted in a good model fit to the data. Specifically, shyness was negatively associated with creative imagination, but positively associated with aesthetic sensitivity. Our findings illustrate the importance of examining different components of creativity, as these seem to be differentially associated with personality dimensions such as shyness. Our findings also have theoretical implications for understanding how shy individuals may express their creativity.

FR-21 THE CREATION OF A UROLOGY TRAINING PROGRAM: ROBERT PRENTISS AND THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY HOSPITAL

You have accessJournal of UrologyHistory Forum1 Apr 2018FR-21 THE CREATION OF A UROLOGY TRAINING PROGRAM: ROBERT PRENTISS AND THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY HOSPITAL Unwanaobong Nseyo Unwanaobong NseyoUnwanaobong Nseyo More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2018.02.3041AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Nearly 60 years ago, Dr. Robert J. Prentiss decided to expand urology training at the then San Diego County Hospital by creating a urology residency program. At that time, the formal urology residency training programs were few and far between, spread out across the country at institutions like Johns Hopkins and UC San Francisco. For Dr. Prentiss, starting the residency program was an extension of his commitment to academics in urology although the residency program predated the creation of the department itself. The historical analysis of the development of a stand-alone urology training program highlights the tenets of urology training that are maintained today. METHODS A literature review was conducted in PubMed which identified primary and secondary sources regarding "Robert J Prentiss" and "San Diego County Hospital" and "urology residency" or "urology training." In addition, archival material was available at UC San Diego as well as in the Prentiss Family Papers accessible via the University of Iowa library. These sources were reviewed in order to evaluate the birth of the UC San Diego urology residency in the appropriate historical context. RESULTS By the 1920s, the majority of urology training occurred through an apprenticeship model. It is in this same way that Robert Prentiss obtained his urology training at University of Iowa under Dr. Nathaniel Alcock (instrumental in mapping of prostatic blood supply). Although Prentiss received his urology training within a well-established medical school and department, he chose to start his own training program without any of these elements in place, much less a full-time faculty. Instead Prentiss relied on a community-based model, partnering with the Naval Hospital and local urologists, which were few at the time, to teach his residents. His curriculum which consisted of monthly case presentations by residents for community physicians as well as invited lectureships. CONCLUSIONS Robert J Prentiss is most well-known for his contribution to surgical management of undescended testes, however, his lesser known work establishing a formal residency training program at what is now UC San Diego illustrates the tenets that characterize the Urology program to this day: collegiality with community urologists, a commitment to intellectual curiosity and continued engagement of leaders in the field of urology through the aptly named Robert Prentiss Lecture for a Visiting Professorship. © 2018FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 199Issue 4SApril 2018Page: e1248-e1249 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2018MetricsAuthor Information Unwanaobong Nseyo More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...

Failing safely: Increasing theology and religious studies students’ resilience and academic confidence via risk‐taking in formative assessment

AbstractStudents increasingly appear anxious, risk‐averse, and worried about getting things “wrong.” They may appear to lack intellectual curiosity, and be unwilling to engage in independent study. This essay explores how teaching and assessment in theology and religious studies might help students learn to take intellectual risks, and increase their resilience. One approach is to encourage students to experiment and “fail safely,” to increase their confidence that they understand what is expected of them, and to help them begin to understand learning as more broadly formational, not always directed toward a grade. I suggest three strategies: more formative assessment; a stronger narrative about the purpose of formative assessment; and an appeal to values, virtue, and the cultivation of character. Via these approaches, students might be encouraged to understand assessment in less utilitarian terms and increase their resilience for a world characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, prepared both critically and dispositionally to thrive and contribute positively to society.

The conceptual significance of the prefatory sugya in the Babylonian Talmud

The prefatory sugya is unique in that the Mishnah is treated as a canonical text to be interpreted homiletically like a biblical verse. In this article I shift the scholarly focus from the technical interpretative methods of the prefatory sugya to its internal meaning. Homiletical interpretation of the Mishnah is merely a rhetorical device employed by the author of the prefatory sugya in order to provide a conceptual preface to the tractate as a whole or to the central topic of the opening chapters. With this approach, the possibility emerges that the Talmudic prefatory sugya may have preceded the Savoraim , and may be considered a natural extension of the familiar petiḥta Midrash genre. This new ‘content approach’ significantly shifts and enriches our perception of the literary role of the prefatory sugya, from a playful intellectual curiosity to meaningful dicta of the sages emphasizing essential principles and values of the tractate.

Alienation from the Objectives of the Patent System: How to Remedy the Situation of Biotechnology Patent.

Some fundamental biotechnologies hold unprecedented potential to eradicate many incurable diseases. However, in absence of regulations, the power of patent makes the future use of some important biotechnology in few institution's hands. The excessive patents restrict researcher access to the fundamental technologies. It generates concerns and complaints of deteriorating the public health and social welfare. Furthermore, intellectual curiosities, funding, respect among colleagues etc., rather than patents, are the real motivations driving a major ground-breaking discoveries in biotechnology. These phenomena reveal that some biotechnology patents are alienated from the purpose of patent system. Therefore, it is necessary to take some approaches to stop over-patenting these fundamental biotechnology inventions. This article proposes a model regulatory framework for controlling biotechnology patent alienating from the purpose of patent system.

Do Students with Varying Academic Ability Benefit Equally from Personal Qualities? Applying a Trait and State Perspective

Using multilevel models, this study examined whether students with varying academic ability benefit equally from perseverance and intellectual curiosity in terms of academic achievement. In addressing this question two perspectives were applied: a trait perspective, focusing on differences between students, and a state perspective, focusing on differences within students across semesters. By means of an online questionnaire, undergraduate students (N = 2272) were asked to rate themselves on perseverance and intellectual curiosity at the beginning of five consecutive semesters. Results indicate that academic ability but also personal qualities have to be taken into account to explain the differences between students in academic achievement. In particular perseverance was found to be important in explaining differences both between students and within students across semesters. Also, individual students fluctuate quite substantially in their reported perseverance and intellectual curiosity from semester to semester.

Five Genes: Key Qualities for Selecting Residents with High Potential.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. During my time as program director, I have reviewed hundreds of residency applications, familiarized myself with the application process, and discovered five characteristics or "genes" that contribute to the success of a future resident. With the advent of an online residency application system, filters tend to focus on more quantitative data like test scores, which may not capture an applicant's true ability to be a successful resident. Applicants' letters of recommendation from both deans and physicians are also increasingly becoming harder to interpret due to diction that is either too hard to understand and/or has the potential to come off negatively. Personal statements, while attempting to capture an applicant's valuable experiences and beliefs, tend to fall short because most applicants either share too strong of political or religious views or do not share enough substance to make a statement truly "personal." Beyond these typical application materials, how a student communicates with others outside of an interview is key for determining a student's true professional behavior. This communication could be in the form of scheduling, rescheduling, or cancelling interviews or how the student interacts with the residents at the informal dinner the night before the interview. Along with professional communication, five "genes" that make for a successful resident, as mentioned above, are passion for the profession, intellectual curiosity and investment, work ethic, ability to be a team player, and empathy. If armed with these qualities, an applicant can turn into a successful resident in no time.

A Tale of Two Cities: Evolution of Academic Physiatry in Boston and Baltimore: Part 1: The Boston Marathon

A Tale of Two Cities: Evolution of Academic Physiatry in Boston and Baltimore: Part 1: The Boston Marathon

Open to Exploration? Association of Personality Factors With Complementary Therapy Use After Breast Cancer Treatment.

Purpose: Many cancer survivors seek complementary therapies (CTs) to improve their quality of life. While it is well-known that women who are younger, more highly educated, and have higher incomes are more likely to use CTs, individual differences such as personality factors have been largely unexplored as predictors of CT use. Methods: In a secondary analysis of a larger study, 270 women with stage I to III breast cancer completed self-report measures of demographic and illness-related information, personality variables, and use of several different types of CTs. A series of logistic regression models were used to explore whether demographic, illness-related, and personality variables predicted different types of CT use. Results: Prior relationships between education and CT use were replicated. There were no significant relationships between illness-related variables and different types of CT use. Of the 5 personality factors, only openness to experience was a significant predictor of multiple types of CT use. Conclusions: Openness to experience may represent an individual difference variable that predicts CT use among cancer survivors. CTs themselves may represent a form of intellectual curiosity and novelty seeking. Further studies are needed to replicate and examine the generalizability of the relationship between openness to experience and CT use in oncology populations.

Getting to the Heart of the Matter: Navigating Narrative Intersections in Ethics Consultation

Ethics consultants can apply a narrative ethics approach to address ethical challenges that arise in critical situations. This approach recognizes how those involved in the narrative make sense of, keep faith with, and try on new identities and new understanding of their stories. This case study explores the ways in which the stories of patient, provider, and clinical ethics consultant intersect, and considers how the organic nature of the narrative ethics approach allows ethics consultants to navigate the stories of multiple stakeholders as they grapple with complex health care decisions. This essay also suggests that clinical ethics consultants applying the lens of narrative ethics have an obligation to approach consultations with courage, professional humility, intellectual curiosity, and an appreciation for the narratives of as many of the stakeholders as possible (including one’s own).

Tradesmen in Virtuoso Culture: "Honest" John Bagford and His Collecting Network, 1683–1716

This essay investigates the status and activity of a neglected figure in the history of collecting, John Bagford, and other tradesmen navigating the elite world of the virtuosi. It argues that tradesmen were not merely passive suppliers of specialist services to their gentlemen patrons but active shapers of virtuoso culture with a strong sense of collective identity. It outlines the various strategies used by Bagford to stake out a valued position in this elite world of collecting, such as his ability to create and maintain networks between collectors. It also discusses Bagford and his tradesman friends' promotion of ballads and playing cards as "curious" collectibles, which had the effect of both demonstrating their intellectual curiosity and enhancing their retailing opportunities.

Adapting Law Lectures to Maximise Student Engagement: Is it Time to ‘Transform’?

In recent years, there has been growing concern about poor mental health and wellbeing of both law students and those in the profession. These concerns have been building for the last two to three decades, and have gathered pace in the last few. As concerns about the impact of lawyering on those in the profession have grown, a separate but related set of developments have been unfolding across universities. Universities all over the world have been developing a heightened awareness of student needs, sensitivities and mental health, and have been considering how teaching methods, materials and styles may impact these. As part of this, a number of North American universities have begun to grapple with the question of whether content to which students are exposed in their degree should contain a ‘trigger warning’. A trigger warning is a cautionary note designed to alert students to potentially sensitive material in a syllabus, and which may, in some circumstances, allow them to be exempted from course content. Trigger warnings have generated significant debate in the United States academy. In other parts of the world, such as Australia, these debates are also gathering pace, with the appropriateness of trigger warnings for clinical legal education now also being considered. This paper explores whether trigger warnings are necessary in clinical legal education. This paper unfolds in three parts. First, drawing upon theoretical concerns about the politics of emotion, including ideas from Sara Ahmed and Judith Butler, I consider the philosophical and conceptual aspects of trigger warnings, including the dangers of academics defining which content is ‘triggering’ and which is not. Second, I explore some of the pedagogical implications that would flow from the use of trigger warnings in law clinics. Third, I examine some of the practical implications of the deployment of trigger warnings in clinics. I argue that academics should be cautious about calls to impose trigger warnings in clinical legal education, because they introduce a series of major philosophical, practical and pedagogical problems. I also argue that although trigger warnings may appear, on the face of it, to align with the values that many clinicians would see as being at the heart of clinical legal education, including social justice, respect for clients, minorities and disadvantaged populations, trigger warnings have the potential to paradoxically instantiate power dynamics, to entrench injustice, and to foreclose intellectual curiosity. They also have a series of implications for the ethics and politics of legal practice, some of which I consider to be both substantial and antithetical to the proper practice of clinical legal education.