Theoretical Terms Research Articles

Applying SDT and JD-R: A Practical Guide to Systemic Wellness Reforms in Medical Education

Background Physician wellness is a growing concern in medical education, with burnout rates among medical professionals continuing to rise. While there is increasing recognition that systemic reforms are essential to addressing this issue, there is a significant gap in theory-based frameworks to guide the implementation of such reforms. Without a shared theoretical language or guiding principles, efforts to reform medical education often lack coherence, making it difficult to evaluate their effectiveness or replicate successful strategies. Methods This paper aims to fill this gap by applying Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model to create a concrete, theory-informed framework for systemic reform in medical education. I present 12 actionable recommendations that focus on two key areas: (1) reducing hindrance job demands that frustrate basic psychological needs and contribute to burnout, and (2) increasing job resources that promote need satisfaction and well-being. These recommendations are designed to provide a clear and scalable approach for institutions to adopt. Results The recommendations in this paper offer practical strategies for optimizing learning environments in medical education. The strategies focus on enhancing physician autonomy, competence, and relatedness by addressing both job demands that hinder well-being and resources that foster engagement and growth. By applying SDT and JD-R as guiding principles, these reforms ensure that systemic changes are measurable and sustainable over the long term. Conclusions This paper provides a theory-guided framework for systemic reforms aimed at promoting physician wellness in medical education. By applying the SDT and JD-R theories, medical educators and institutions can implement targeted strategies to reduce burnout and foster a thriving work environment. The framework not only offers actionable recommendations but also a means of measuring the impact and effectiveness of these reforms, ensuring their long-term success in improving physician well-being.

The hidden complexity of the simple world of basic experimental psychology: the principal and practical limits of gaining psychological knowledge using the experimental method

Basic experimental research in psychology is based on the assumption that law-like behavior can be observed if the complexity of the human psyche is reduced by the creation of experimental settings in which simple psychical phenomena occur which reflect the effect of an isolated psychological mechanism. However, we show that this assumption does not hold for many phenomena studied in basic experimental psychology because even phenomena that are regarded as simple and fully controllable often fluctuate unpredictably as a function of unintentionally chosen details of the experimental setting. The reason is that in a complex system like the human psyche, even minimal, and from the perspective of the investigated research question irrelevant, differences in the experimental setting can build up to large unsystematic effects. Law-like behavior in experiments could only occur if truly low-level mechanisms were studied in a truly isolated way. However, this is often not the case in current experimental research. One problem is that often fuzzy theoretical terms are used which only give the impression that low-level mechanisms are being investigated, although in reality the complexity of the human psyche is unintentionally brought on board. Another problem is that, unlike in the natural sciences, the mechanisms of the human psyche can only be isolated from each other to a limited extent because the human psyche always reacts as a whole system. If such problems could be overcome, meaningful knowledge could be gained through experimental psychological research. However, the knowledge gained is very limited in terms of its explanatory power for human behavior, as it is only helpful for understanding a very specific aspect of behavior, namely the mechanistic functioning of isolated low-level mechanisms. When it comes to understanding motivated behavior in real life, knowledge about the non-mechanistic functioning of the higher levels of the human psyche is necessary, but this knowledge cannot be gained through the experimental method.

How theoretical terms effectively refer

Scientific realists with traditional semantic inclinations are often pressed to explain away the distinguished series of referential failures that seem to plague our best past science. As recent debates make it particularly vivid, a central challenge is to find a reliable and principled way to assess referential success at the time a theory is still a live concern. In this paper, I argue that this is best done in the case of physics by examining whether the putative referent of a term is specifiable within the limited domain delineated by the range of parameters over which the theory at stake is empirically accurate. I first implement this selective principle into a general account of reference, building on Stathis Psillos’s works. Then, I show that this account offers a remarkably reliable basis to assess referential success before theory change in the case of effective theories. Finally, I briefly show that this account still works well with other physical examples and explain how it helps us to handle problematic cases in the history of physical sciences.

NOMINAL TERMS IN RUSSIAN MUSIC THEORY

The article is devoted to a special branch of the terminology system of musical theory, formed as a result of nominal nomination. The main angle of consideration of theoretical terms is determined by the eponymic attitude, which reveals participation in the process of forming a proper name term. This range of terms is called nominal, which determines the specifics of their formation and functioning in the musical system. The inclusion of a proper name in the designation of a term gives it an additional connotation, expanding the associative and semantic field. Nominal terminology covers phenomena of various orders, among which the most significant part is harmony and other related elements of the pitch system, including modes, scales and texture.

BENDING OF THE SURFACES OF THE BINORMALS OF THE SLOPE LINES

The bending of the surfaces of the binormals by deformation of the directing curve, which is the slope line, is considered. Such deformation changes the curvature of the curve, but it remains a slope line. The rectilinear generators of the surfaces at deformation of the curve coincide with the unit binormal of the accompanying trihedral at all its points. Parametric equations of continuous bending of these surfaces have been made by changing the angle of inclination of the directional slope line. The initial slope curve is given by the angle of its rise and the conformity of change of curvature as a function of arc length. The partial case where the curvature of the initial curve is constant is considered. In this case, it is shown that helicoids, including the screw conoid, are the set of surface bends. Specific examples are considered. According to the obtained equations, the surfaces that are the bending of the initial are constructed. The doctrine of bending is an important part of the differential geometry of surfaces. The most studied in theoretical terms is the bending of the developable surfaces, because the particular case of bending such surfaces on the plane, that is, obtaining an involute, is applied. It is a well-known theorem on the possibility of bending screw surfaces into the surfaces of revolution. A classic example is the bending of a screw conoid into a catenoid. Screw lines of a surface at its bending gradually deform, their step decreases, until they turn into the parallels of a surface of revolution. Nondevelopable ruled surfaces can also be bent like developable ones, that is, deform the directing curve in such a way that rectilinear generators remain straight. This article is devoted to this bending of ruled non developable surfaces, where the slope line is a directing curve of the surface. Bending of linear unbranched surfaces can be carried out in the same way as unfolded, that is, with the preservation of rectilinear twists. A partial case of such bending is the bending of the surface of the binormals of the spatial curve guide. When the surface is bent, the guide curve is deformed so that its twist as a function of the arc length remains unchanged. Using the example of slope curves, which are directional curves of the surface of binormals, generalized parametric equations of bending such surfaces by changing the angle of their rise are obtained. When this angle increases to a limit value of 90°, the surface is transformed so that the slope curve turns into a straight line. The result of the bending of the surface of the binormals of the helical line is the helicoids and the helical conoid with a maximum lifting angle of 90 °.

Principlism language in contemporary Chinese bioethics: dissonance and discordance.

The language of principlism seems to have emerged as the predominant guiding framework in teaching, research and even legislation within contemporary Chinese bioethics. This essay reveals the dissonance between the individualistic orientation of this theoretical language and the familist features of Chinese clinical practice by considering the principle of respect for autonomy and its discordance with the Confucian tradition of virtue ethics and medical rituals. Several representative clinical cases in mainland China are presented to illustrate the incongruity between the current state of Confucian medical rituals and the language game of the principle of respect for autonomy. While there is a recognized need in contemporary Chinese medical practice to promote patient involvement in decision-making in the cases of terminal illness, we argue that this approach should be implemented in alignment with Confucian virtue ethics and medical rituals. Resolving the linguistic discordance between Chinese bioethics and principlism should not entail a shift towards principlism.

Privilege and discrimination in identity politics: ‘Guiding Distinctions’ as a tool for analyzing social inequality

This article examines the evolution of discourse on social inequality through the concept of ‘guiding distinctions’, a theoretical term introduced by Niklas Luhmann. The study develops criteria for ‘guiding distinctions’, making the concept usable as an analytical tool. Using this framework, the article traces a historical shift from the Marxist focus on economic inequality, rooted in the capital/labor dichotomy, to the contemporary emphasis on identity politics, which is characterized by the novel guiding distinction between privilege and discrimination. The study illuminates how current identity politics redefine social inequality as a multifaceted phenomenon involving various forms of discrimination, beyond just economic issues. Applying the ‘guiding distinction’ framework reveals two key developments: an increasing complexity in the understanding of social inequality and a shift in efforts to address it, moving from class struggle to approaches centered on enlightenment and education. The article argues that recognizing these shifts is crucial for a nuanced analysis of identity politics and its implications for societal understanding of social inequality. The findings contribute to ongoing debates in sociology about the role of identity politics in shaping contemporary social movements and the study of social inequality.

A Disquisition on Pedagogical Interventions for the Augmentation of English Speaking Skills in Secondary School Students

As English continues to be the dominant global language for communication, academic success, and career advancement, it is crucial for students to attain proficiency in speaking. The project investigates strategies for enhancing oral communication skills through interactive and student-centered learning methods. The present study aimed at investigating the effect of a project-based program on developing ESL conversation for secondary school students. Literature and related studies dealing with project-based learning in ESL teaching and conversation were reviewed. A list of conversation components was prepared by the researcher as a guide for the design of the instruments. In addition, a per-diagnostics and post conversation test was designed and a conversation rubric was adapted. This project focuses on the development of English language speaking skills among school students. Various approaches like role-play, group discussions, language games, debates, and digital tools are explored to build confidence, fluency, and clarity in spoken English. The objective is to create an engaging learning environment that fosters spontaneous conversation, practical application of vocabulary, and improved pronunciation. By integrating these methods, the project seeks to bridge the gap between theoretical language learning and its real-world use, making students more effective communicators. The paper also discusses the impact of cultural factors, learner motivation, and the role of technology in modern language learning

The Modifiable Areal Unit Problem in Political Science

Abstract Building on the availability of geospatial data, improvements in mapping software, and innovations in spatial statistics, political scientists are increasingly taking geography seriously. As we adopt the tools of geographers, we must also consider the methodological challenges they have identified. We focus on the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP)—the idea that the size of aggregate spatial units and the location of their borders affect the empirical results we obtain. We first describe the logic of the MAUP, and then demonstrate the MAUP through simulations, showing MAUP-related inconsistency in regression results in randomly generated and real-world data. We identify MAUP concerns, and best practices, in top journals in political science. We conclude by suggesting how scholars may respond in theoretical and empirical terms to concerns about validity and reliability that arise from the MAUP.

Ural State University of Economics (USUE)

Subject. This article discusses the issues of development of a complex semi-structured system. Objectives. The article aims to identify the relationship between order and entropy as factors in the development of the economic system. Methods. For the study, we used the systems approach, mathematical modeling, and a graphical analysis. Results. The article finds that in theoretical terms, the management of an economic system is a process of purposeful influence on the controlled values. The article presents an example of calculating the level of entropy in a simplified form in a conditional economic system. Conclusions. The developed formalization makes it possible to fully assess the level of entropy of an economic system. Entropy is a significant indicator that determines the level of order of the system.

Evocative Screens: Ethnographic Insights into the Digitalization of Diplomacy

Abstract How is diplomacy, a profession long premised on face-to-face interactions, adjusting to life with and on the screen? In this article, I present insights from 5 years of fieldwork (2018–2023) focused on the diplomatic scene in Brussels. I approach this material through Sherry Turkle's concept of the “evocative object” to theorize how digitalization relates to diplomatic practice. In contrast to most existing scholarship that works with remotely collected digital data such as images or tweets, I work ethnographically and explore the associations screens evoke among diplomatic practitioners themselves. If in the form of a smartphone in a diplomat's hand or as a projection surface on a meeting room wall, I show how the screen emerges as an effective and an affective object that diplomats relate to in multiple ways. By paying attention to how diplomatic practitioners relate to the screen, we can capture pragmatic rituals, professional priorities, and formal procedures just as much as personal anxieties, power struggles, and informal relations of competence and trust. Overall, the article contributes detailed empirical insights into the lived experience of an otherwise largely closed-off world and nurtures a new theoretical language to make sense of the digitalization of international politics.

A Note on the “Little Giant” Policy

In this note, we briefly address the “Little Giant” Policy both in theoretical and empirical terms. As our discussion shows, the farsightedness of the Chinese LGP has both empirical support and theoretical soundness. Surely, it is an example to imitate for countries having a large number of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises.

Visibility Evaluation in Microfacet Theory.

Reflectance models capture many types of visual appearances. The most plausible reflectance models follow the Microfacet theory, which is specifically based on statistical representations, with an analytic visibility term. This visibility term has a significant impact on appearance. Visibility computed with the masking term proposed by Smith[1], and revisited by Ashikhmin et al.[2], is nowadays considered as the most plausible in the literature. It is simple and efficient to evaluate for statistical distributions, but it relies on assumptions that are not necessarily respected by real surfaces. This paper proposes an in-depth study of masking for meshed height-field surfaces, generated either from measured real-world materials or from functions derived from distributions of surface normals. We experimentally estimate the masking (and shadowing) of surfaces using a ray-casting technique, and compare their measurements with the theoretical model from Smith and Ashikhmin et al. We show that their assumptions are too restrictive for a majority of real-world surfaces. We propose a model capable of predicting how close the theoretical masking term can be from the masking term estimated by a ray-casting approach. Although most surfaces break their assumptions, our results show that the term from Smith and Ashikhmin et al. can still be reasonably employed for a fraction in a set of more than 400 measured surfaces, with low errors compared to a ray-casting masking estimation, much lower computation times, and very similar visual appearances. Our model can be used to predict the incurred error on a physically-based rendering simulation with a microfacet-based BRDF created from real-world surfaces, instead of explicitly calculating the masking term from its height field.

Meaning in life research: the importance of considering auxiliary assumptions

ABSTRACT There have been significant advances in the science of meaning in life (MIL). Researchers have made empirical predictions about the antecedents and consequences of meaning and the best ways it can be enhanced. Yet, it is important that researchers in this area consider the auxiliary assumptions associated with their predictions. Auxiliary assumptions, which traverse the distance from nonobservational theoretical terms to observational terms at the level of the empirical hypotheses, have important implications for the appraisal of empirical victories and defeats. In this paper, we outline the importance of auxiliary assumptions in MIL research. To ensure the validity of findings associated with MIL, we hope this paper encourages researchers to pay close attention to the auxiliary assumptions associated with their predictions.

China’s Economic Pressure Campaign against Lithuania: The Novelties and Limits of Chinese Economic Statecraft and Coercion

ABSTRACT In late 2021, Lithuania was targeted by the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) unprecedentedly assertive and multi-dimensional pressure campaign that included a rarely witnessed array of coercive economic measures. The Chinese party-state used its vast and diverse economic resources to punish Lithuania in response to the country’s comprehensive review of their bilateral relationship, and particularly the outreach to Taiwan. While largely conforming with previous examples of Chinese economic pressure, the variety and intensity of the punitive economic measures used by Beijing make the case of Lithuania especially significant in both empirical and theoretical terms. The campaign’s notable ferocity and ingenuity were related to Lithuania’s unusually low direct economic dependence on the PRC. Although Beijing failed to achieve any direct policy results in the short term, the impact of its coercive economic measures in the target country appears to be more nuanced and mixed.

How about that? Psycholinguistic characteristics of formulaic language that predict fluency in individuals with post-stroke aphasia

ABSTRACT Purpose Formulaic language is an under-explored area of research in the field of acquired language disorders as compared to propositional language. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the utility of a proposed theoretical formulaic language model (Van Lancker Sidtis, 2022) for individuals with post-stroke aphasia to inform research and clinical practice. Method The dataset included previously described formulaic language extracted from Aphasiabank speech samples produced by 144 individuals with fluent and non-fluent aphasias. Formulaic language items were coded according to six psycholinguistic characteristics from the theoretical model. Between-group comparisons and regression analyses were run to determine whether particular psycholinguistic characteristics of produced formulaic items could predict speaker fluency. Results Findings revealed formulaic language differences between fluent and nonfluent aphasias based on the theoretical model. Importantly, psycholinguistic characteristics of frequency and syntactic completeness along with presence of apraxia of speech predicted fluency status with high accuracy (88.4% of individuals with fluent and 70.3% with nonfluent aphasia). Conclusions Findings in this study illustrate how theoretically-driven analyses of formulaic language production may enhance diagnostic and intervention practices in post-stroke aphasia.

Education on the Importance of Doctor-patient Communication in Orthodontic Clinical Teaching.

In the process of orthodontic clinical teaching, it is very important to teach medical students how they are expected to communicate effectively with patients and their families, as this has a direct impact on patient compliance throughout the process of diagnosis and treatment and on patient satisfaction after treatment. Doctor-patient communication is therefore an essential skill for medical students to gain before taking up clinical work. In view of the problems that are often encountered in each stage of orthodontic treatment, the present paper discusses the specific content of doctor-patient communication education in clinical teaching. The discussion is given in both theoretical and practical terms to lay a solid foundation for improving the overall quality of medical service provided by medical students in teaching hospitals and establishing a harmonious medical environment.

Eat healthy, save the planet, but let minced meat save you! Marketing discourses, food practices and meat consumption legitimation

This article aims to critically examine cultural discourses in food marketing from the perspective of mundane food practices and contested meat consumption. In conceptualising normativity and sociocultural contestations of consumption in practice-level performances, less attention has been paid to legitimations of (un)sustainable consumption, such as meat consumption, in marketing discourses. We take inspiration from the concept of teleoaffective formations – particularly that of promotional sustainable consumption – and adopt a critical discourse analysis method to analyse the food marketing content of Finnish grocery retailers. Our findings exemplify discursive tensions between normative ideas of food practices (effectiveness, healthiness and environmental friendliness) and practice reproduction and change. Our analysis uncovers how practices are utilised as arenas for contradictory, parallel legitimations: meat is justified as a convenient means in the fight against busy everyday life, while the shift towards ideal, reduced meat consumption is promoted. Additionally, the findings illustrate responsibilisation of the consumer as both a morally and practically conscious actor concerned about food sustainability and caring for the family. The study exemplifies how analysing discursive consumption legitimation by marketers reveals power issues in consumer culture in practice theoretical terms and elucidates sociocultural conditions for sustainability shifts in normative consumption. This article thus responds to the calls for approaching consumption in practices from a cultural and critical perspective and for extending research to the commercial sphere.

The Festival City in Event Management Research

This curated collection considers the topic of the Festival City and examines how research on this theme published in the Event Management journal has contributed to extant theory in event management and event studies. Our article examines the evolution of the Festival City concept over the last 25 years. First, we introduce the Festival City in theoretical and practical terms. We then explore related concepts, most notably the Eventful City, which is the most prominent theme in the existing research. Our commentary continues by exploring how the research has conceptualized the Festival City, major themes emerging from the research, and contributions to theory development. We reflect on the limitations of the present research and conclude by suggesting future research directions for the Festival City concept in Event Management.

Escrituras de viaje de la diáspora afrocaribeña contemporánea: rutas hacia la metrópoli, África y de regreso al Caribe

This article analyses a corpus of writings about travels published since 1990 by authors from the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. The analysis is organized around three fundamental axes according to the type of displacement described: the migratory journey to the metropolis, the journey of Afro-descendant memory to Africa and the return journey or visit to the Caribbean. In theoretical terms, the proposal dialogues with diaspora conceptualizations and postcolonial criticism. The article proposes that the experience andreflection on the travel experience plays a central role in the articulation of discourses and imaginaries and the configuration of a diasporic space of enunciation. In this space, Caribbean migrant communities recover memories, recognize affiliations, articulate demands and elaborate alternative identity projects.