Two for the show: Anti-luck and virtue epistemologies in consonance

This essay extends my side of a discussion begun earlier with Duncan Pritchard, the recent author of Epistemic Luck.Pritchard’s work contributes significantly to improving the “diagnostic appeal” of a neo-Moorean philosophical response to radical scepticism. While agreeing with Pritchard in many respects, the paper questions the need for his concession to the sceptic that the neo-Moorean is capable at best of recovering “‘brute’ externalist knowledge”. The paper discusses and directly responds to a dilemma that Pritchard poses for virtue epistemologies (VE). It also takes issue with Pritchard’s “merely safety-based” alternative. Ultimately, however, the criticisms made here of Pritchard’s dilemma and its underlying contrast of “anti-luck” and “virtue” epistemologies are intended to help realize his own aspirations for a better diagnosis of radical scepticism to inform a still better neo-Moorean response.     

THE epistemologies of parsimony: A review of Ockham's razors: A user's manual by Elliott Sober

Sober analyzes two paradigms of parsimony that have been used successfully in science. These are associated with two interpretations of probability: Bayesian and frequentist. Sober applies these paradigms to problems in biology, psychology, and philosophy. In the chapter on psychology, he argues that objective data consisting of environmental input and two or more concurrent responses could be used to refute empirically the radical behaviorist thesis that probability of learned responses can be accounted for solely on the basis of environmental variables. Sober believes that such data are readily available and offers a thought experiment to illustrate his point. Behavior analysts, however, would want actual experimental data, undoubtedly with animals, before accepting any such refutation. Nonetheless, Sober's philosophical point about the type of experiment that would be capable of refuting this thesis is valid. The behavior analytic program, however, does not depend upon the truth of this thesis.     

Encounter with a traditional healer: Western and African therapeutic approaches in dialogue

The paper explores the extent to which cultural aspects contribute to the modalities of human relations and consequently to the qualities of the internal objects and the sense of identity. Therapeutic relationships and techniques, as well as the theories on which they are based, are seen as being equally embedded in their cultural context. An encounter with a traditional African healer offers the author, a western trained European analyst, an opportunity to think about similarities and differences in the therapeutic approach to mental distress, as well as in the training of therapists/healers in the two cultures. Special attention is given to the role of ancestor reverence in African culture. The notion of the ancestors is related to what psychoanalysis describes as internal objects. Cultural differences in the role and importance of verbal language in the therapeutic relationship are described, and the importance and meaning of non-verbal forms of communication are explored.     

Writing the (researcher) self: reflective practice and undergraduate research

This paper discusses the way in which postmodern emergence was used to assist a group of undergraduate students come to new understandings of research practice as they participated in a reflective component of an Undergraduate Research Summer School. Students were encouraged to ‘write the (researcher) self’ through a collaborative writing group based on the theoretical and pedagogical work of Somerville. Postmodern emergence highlights three stages of learning; firstly, assigning time for wondering, then a liminal space for becoming and finally an opportunity for generating new knowledge. This article is both the tangible product of this emergence reflective writing process and a recommendation about the capacity of undergraduate students to engage with their own professionalisation and meaning-making.     

浅谈医学教育转型与临床课程整合

面对医学教育落后于医学发展的状况, 为适应全球卫生事业的快速发展, 迫在眉睫的事情就是促进医学教育转型。为使医学教育与医学发展相互依存、相互协调, 医学教育必须从过时的、静态的和零散的课程模式脱颖而出。实现医学教育转型的关键是推进医学课程整合, 而以临床医学的课程整合最为重要和迫切。转型是以胜任能力为导向的系统化工程, 实现医学思维观念的整合是课程整合的根本目标, 而医学人文教育的嵌入是医学教育转型的精髓。     

论创建一流大学与高等医学教育的改革与发展

创建一流大学的战略选择为中国高等教育事业的发展提供了新的机遇与挑战,也为高等医学教育的更快发展提供了可能。我们应当正确认识与世界一流大学存在的差距和高等医学教育的特殊性,积极探索,充分发挥综合性大学的办学优势,努力推进医学教育的改革与发展。     

The Fine Art of Sitting on Two Stools: Multicultural Education Between Postmodernism and Critical Theory

The paper examines two philosophical origins of multicultural education -- postmodern philosophy and critical theory. Critical theory is closely connected to grand narrative of liberation, while postmodern tradition rejects such narrative. The ambivalence of fundamental assumptions makes multicultural theory vulnerable to criticism. However, author maintains, this ambivalence can be a strength rather than a weakness of the multicultural theory. Using Mikhail Bakhtin's notion of polyphony, author attempts to show that incompatible theoretical perspectives may productively coexist within framework of dialogical engagement. The result of such dialogical relations is reciprocal change and not an eventual merge.(With Support of NAE/Spencer Foundation)     

Humanizing education in the Soviet Union: A plea for caution in these postmodern times

In this article, the author problematizes the process of humanizing education in the era of perestroika and glasnost. Identifying herself as a democratic socialist, Kohli invites her Soviet colleagues to acknowledge the criticisms of liberal capitalism before they move headlong in that direction. In deconstructing such taken-for-granted concepts as individualism, democracy, market economy, and community, Kohli suggests that both the West and the East could benefit from re-visiting their respective revolutionary traditions at this crucial historical time.     

Equinox: portrait of a holistic school

This paper is a qualitative study of Equinox Holistic Alternative School, an elementary school in Toronto in its seventh year. There were a total of 27 people interviewed including teachers, parents, and students. The data indicated that the school is meeting its primary goal of educating the whole child.     

The Lutheran Confessions in Western Europe: Past and Future

Abstract: The idea of a church uniting confession began with the Lutherans in the late 1520s; and with translations of the Augsburg Confession (AC) it spread throughout Europe with the advance of the Reformation. As European culture slips further toward postmodern relativism, the absolute nature of divine claims reflected in confessions will seem odd and unwelcome. Christians must take up the challenge of developing a hermeneutic for interpreting the confessions so that the Truth of God can be respected.     

Understanding the Diversity of Catholic Higher Education: A New Empirical Guide for Evaluating the Influence of Catholic Identity

Although scholars have often described faith-based universities in America as “church-related,” we argue this classification tells us virtually nothing about how the Catholic identity influences the mission, rhetoric, curriculum, or policies of Catholic institutions. Although Morey and Piderit (2006, Catholic higher education: A culture in crisis) created a more sophisticated four-part typology of Catholic institutions, we find that students, parents, administrators, and scholars, particularly scholars interested in institutional secularization, need a better means of empirical analysis to determine the degree to which the Catholic identity of an institution influences key administrative decisions of the university. Thus, we propose a method of content analysis that can quantify how the Catholic identity shapes key administrative, curricular, and cocurricular decisions and thereby places Catholic institutions upon a continuum. We then apply our new Operationalizing Faith Identity Guide (OFIG) to Catholic institutions in the United States to demonstrate the helpfulness of its application. Replication : The data needed to duplicate and replicate the findings in the paper will be made available immediately following publication.     

生殖器疱疹研究现状及诊疗过程中的伦理问题

生殖器疱疹是单纯疱疹病毒感染生殖器部位皮肤黏膜所引起的炎症性疾病,是常见的性传播性疾病之一.近年来,随着其在人群中的流行率的不断增高,在国内已成为一个令人关注的公共卫生问题.本文就其病原学、流行状况、传播和潜在的危险性作一概述,并分析了在其诊疗过程中的伦理问题及相关的对策.     

New challenges for professional counsellors: The higher education international student population

Using a 50-item, self-report questionnaire, 640 international students enrolled at an urban university campus provided needs assessment data based on the geographical region of their country of origin. Additionally, the students’ perceptions regarding changes they experienced since coming to the United States are also reported. The authors conclude with a discussion of the study's implications for professional counsellors in higher education. Recommendations are proffered for the mental health services and programs needed by this special population of students based on the information obtained from the investigation.     

Spirituality in the Counselor Education Curriculum: A National Survey of Student Perceptions

Interns (N= 335) from 36 programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs completed a survey about their preparation to integrate the 9 Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Issues in Counseling (ASERVIC) Spiritual Competencies into their counseling practice. Most respondents felt prepared to integrate all but 1 of ASERVIC's competencies. Spiritual topics of wellness, meaning, hope, and faith were addressed most frequently in course work and were associated with feeling prepared to integrate 8 of the competencies. Classroom discussion, experiential activities, and reading were the modalities most useful for learning about spirituality.     

Schooling Bodies Through Physical Education: Insights from Social Epistemology and Curriculum History

Using mainly historical material fromAustralia, the paper seeks to understand earlyforms of school physical training, sport andmedical inspection as specialised means ofschooling bodies. The study adopts a socialepistemological perspective in seeking tounderstand the meaning-in-use of notions suchas physical training. It explores the socialconsequences of the practices carried out inthe name of physical training, particularly inrelation to shifts in the social regulation ofbodies over time from a mass, externalised, andcentralised form to a relatively moreindividualised, internalised and diffuse form.This focus on the body is of key importance fora social epistemological study of physicaleducation because it forces us to look closelyat the practices constituting physicaleducation.     

态射的建构与发展:发生认识论的一种动态形式化

发生认识论主要研究认识的心理发生及其形式化。对于后者的研究,上个世纪30年代皮亚杰建构了“群集”结构来解释儿童前运算阶段的思维方式,70年代又引入了数学范畴论来解释形式运算阶段的认知发展,再一次对儿童思维的发展与科学发展两者间的连续性给出了明证。数学范畴论是对数学对象的结构间变换进行形式化的一个数学分支,建构的思想以及对所建构结构进行转换是范畴论的本质,而其中作为范畴对象的态射与态射组合体现了其建构本质,且能最为妥贴地描述认识的动态发生与发展。新的理论建模将对应与转换揉合在一起更好地阐释认知发展过程中每一转换过程的机制与结构发展。本文试图通过介绍认识发生过程中对应、转换的发展,以及所引入数学范畴论中态射的概念,来阐释认识发生中认知生成工具———态射———的建构与发展,以及认知结构的系统发展,从而对皮亚杰晚年这一形式化工作予以简单说明与评价。     

Improving the psychosocial wellbeing of international students: the relevance of mindfulness

ABSTRACT

In this study we analysed the potential of a mindfulness programme for improving psychosocial wellbeing among students at a Dutch university. Based on interviews and observations of sessions, the study demonstrated that students joined the programme to manage stress and anxiety, cultivate self-awareness, and regulate difficult emotions. They all reported positive outcomes, but students who participated in the sessions regularly and did the homework assignments reported better outcomes, including enhanced self-awareness, self-care, and positive attitudes towards others. Although students reported improved emotion regulation, many still believed that the programme was less strong in this area. The study affirms the potential of mindfulness programmes for improving the psychosocial wellbeing, and builds a case for the integration of mindfulness interventions in university counselling services.     

Reinventing the University: From Institutions to Communities of Higher Education

This article responds to three questions: What if the primary mission of the university is to (i) nourish the intellect, (ii) commit to the sacredness of all life, and (iii) foster spirituality? Responses examine multiple forms of literacy, instruction that is ecologically valid and thus oriented toward the unity of knowledge, and teaching as a moral activity. The suggestion here is that meaningful reform will emphasize education of the whole person in relation to the physical, symbolic, and social environments. Curricula focused on forms of representation, modes of treatment, and syntactic structure, adaptive understandings, constructed meanings, critical thinking, real problems, connected knowing, creativity, inspiration, service learning, and the development of declarative procedural and poetic knowledge are discussed.     

Equipping the Equippers: The Pedagogical and Programmatic Implications of The Christians' Callings in the World Project

When five theological schools realized (a) their graduates affirmed vocation as central to their theology and practice, yet (b) the parishioners of their graduates nevertheless did not feel called, they knew they had to do something. For six years, faculty teams from these schools conducted a variety of experiments in pedagogy, curriculum reform, and program development in order to train their graduates to equip all of God's people to claim and live their vocational identity in the world. This article introduces the identified challenge and necessary theological and pedagogical shift and then describes five of those experiments in greater detail.