Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Ethics Without Philosophy: Wittgenstein and the Moral Life, James C. Edwards, Tampa, University of South Florida,1982,
T. Penelhum, God and Skepticism, D Reidel Publishing     

National responsibility,global justice and exploitation: a preliminary analysis

This article addresses the problem of filling in a missing component of David Miller's non-cosmopolitan theory of global justice, as elaborated in his recent National responsibility and global justice (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007). Miller originally included non-exploitation as one of the norms of global justice, but he does not provide a theory of exploitation in his recent book. This article is a preliminary attempt to suggest how Miller might fill in this gap. This article identifies the problems Miller faces in coming up with a theory of exploitation, given the limits imposed by the other parts of his theory of global justice. It examines and criticises several possible theories of exploitation that Miller might use. Finally, it argues that a modified version of Hillel Steiner's liberal theory of exploitation fits into Miller's overall theory of global justice.     

The Past,Present, and Future of Student Affairs: A Professional Profile of Theodore K. Miller

Theodore K. Miller began his career in 1957 as the counselor for men at the University of Florida and then worked as a counseling psychologist at the State University of New York at Buffalo starting in 1962. He left there 5 years later to start a student personnel program at The University of Georgia. During his 30 years at Georgia, Miller established a nationally recognized graduate professional preparation program and became one of the most prominent figures in the field of college student development. This profile focuses on the professional influences in his life and on his role in developing quality assurance measures for counseling and human development programs and for student affairs functional areas.     

A Critique of Dependence Concepts. Review of Multivariate Models and Dependence Concepts, by Harry Joe

Harry Joe in the Department of Statistics, University of British Columbia, is an expert on the topic of multivariate dependence concepts. He received his Ph.D. in statistics from Florida State University. Professor Joe has taught a graduate course entitled Multivariate Models for Non-normal Response, with Covariates at both the University of Pittsburgh and the University of British Columbia. The current book is based in part on the materials developed for that course.  Ram Shanmugam was an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Colorado when this review was completed. He has been actively engaged in both teaching and research work in multivariate statistics. He is an elected fellow of the International Statistical Institute.     

“If We’re Going to Change Things, It Has to Be Systemic:” Systems Change in Children’s Mental Health

Communities that undertake systems change in accordance with the system of care philosophy commit to creating new systems entities for children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance. These new entities are values-based, voluntary, and cross-agency alliances that include formal child-serving entities, youth, and families. Describing the scope and intent of one such implementation of systems of care, a mental health administrator commented, "If we're going to change things, it has to be systemic" (B. Baxter, personal communication, December 2, 2005). This paper explores the concept of "systemic" in the context of systems of care. Systems theory is used to understand strategies of purposeful systems change undertaken by stakeholders in established system of care communities. The paper presents a conceptual model of systems change for systems of care that is grounded in data from a national study of system of care implementation (Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health in Case Studies of system implementation: Holistic approaches to studying community-based systems of care: Study 2, University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health, Tampa, FL, 2004). The model is based on Soft Systems Methodology, an application of systems theory developed to facilitate practical action around systems change in human systems (Checkland in Systems thinking, systems practice, Wiley, Chichester, 1999). The implications of these findings to real world actions associated with systems change in systems of care are discussed.     

The effects of sex and sex-role identity on the attribution of maladjustment

This study examined the effects of a stimulus person's gender and sex-role identity and an observer's gender and sex-role identity on the observer's judgments of the stimulus person's personality and level of adjustment. After having been classified as androgynous or nonandrogynous, 141 males and females viewed videotapes of a case conference on a bogus client. In the videotapes the client's gender and sex-role identity were factorially manipulated. As predicted, male clients and clients with a masculine sex-role identity were seen as possessing less favorable personality characteristics and as being less mentally healthy than were female clients and clients with a feminine history. Sex-role incongruence (e.g., a masculine female) influenced the subjects' judgments only of a female client. A sex-role congruent female was seen as more attractive and better adjusted than a sex-role incongruent female. The subjects' gender and sex-role identity did not influence their judgments of the clients in any consistent or interpretable fashion. Finally, it was found that the subjects were most influenced by sex-role congruence/incongruence of opposite sex stimulus persons. The discussion of these results centered on: (a) the relative influence of gender and sex-role identity on people's perceptions of a stimulus person and (b) the need for further exploration of how subject characteristics might influence these perceptions.This study is based on a Masters thesis submitted to the University of South Florida in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree. Portions of the study were presented at the 1978 meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association. All correspondence should be sent to the second author c/o Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620.     

Germ-Line Genetic Information as a Natural Resource as a Means to Achieving Luck-Egalitarian Equality: Some Difficulties

Res Publica - In his left-libertarian theory of justice Hillel Steiner introduces the idea of conceiving our germ-line genetic information (GLGI) as a natural resource as a means to achieving...     

The cloze technique in Arabic: Words or semantic units?

The wide gap between written and spoken variants of the Arabic language turns reading comprehension into a criterion of formal learning. The cloze technique for assessing reading comprehension is a promising tool, but it involves a decision as to whether the elision of complete words, as in English, is to be preferred to the elision of semantic units that are whole words in English but compounded in Arabic and certain other languages. In effect, the question is whether Arabic is decoded mainly by way of perceptual or semantic units. Omitted words or semantic units within words, at the rate of every fifth, sixth, or seventh unit, were replaced by 584 Arab pupils in the fifth, sixth, or seventh grades of Arab schools in Israel. Age and frequency-of-omission trends tended to favor the whole-word elision method, while presumed difficulty of passage agreed with the semantic-unit method. The two methods were shown to be equally valid by a criterion of teacher grades. In sum, the cloze method appears well adapted to Arabic, and there is no apparent reason to abandon the whole-word method used with English and other languages.The generous help of the Institute of Research for Arab Education and Development at the University of Haifa is gratefully acknowleged. The paper was completed while the first author was on sabbatical leave at the University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida.     

The “Three Rs” of Sex

Summary We have seen that sex has three functions, the reproductive, the relational, and the recreational. We have shown it probable that a great deal of unnecessary marital conflict comes from one party holding relational sex to be all-important while the other considers recreational sex to be of more importance. Finally, we have indicated that it is most likely that if they can compromise this difficulty by each meeting the other on his own ground a part of the time, much of the haggling will stop and many unnecessary divorces will be avoided.The Rev. Maxwell H. Morris, Th.D., following studies in the Old Testament and ancient history in the University of Oregon, the University of Washington, and the University of Southern California, spent a year in Jewish studies at the Hebrew Union College for Rabbinical Studies in Cincinnati. His interest in the psychology of sex grew out of his attempts to understand phallic and fertility cults.     

A Note Concerning Analysis of Error Scores from Motor-Memory Research

Exception is taken to the statistical analysis for motor memory research suggested by Roy (1976) in his paper on “Measuring change in motor memory. “ The hazardous effects of multicollinearity which result from using AE(or E), CE, and VE as multiple dependent variables in MANOVA are explained and an alternate strategy for statistical analysis is suggested. I would like to express my appreciation to Ken Brewer, Program of Evaluation and Research Design at Florida State University, for his assistance with the major points of this paragraph.     

Parenting and Emerging Adult Internalizing Problems: Regional Differences Suggest Southern Parenting Factor

Although the effects of parenting styles have received much consideration in the research literature, less attention has been given to outcomes in emerging adults. Also, regional differences among areas of the United States may influence parents to use varying degrees of parenting practices such as affection and discipline. The current study investigated the differences in parenting in two geographically close yet distinct regions of the United States and the associated psychological outcomes in emerging adults. The sample was derived from two datasets: one consisting of participants predominantly from Southern states and one predominantly from Florida. The participants reported on maternal and paternal perceived parenting styles and discipline tactics as well as their own internalizing problems. Most notably, authoritative style of both parents shared a direct relationship with authoritarian style in the Southern sample, whereas this was an inverse relationship in the Florida sample. Maternal authoritarian parenting shared a negative relationship with internalizing symptoms in the Mississippi sample, whereas this relationship was positive in the Florida sample. Additionally, paternal permissive parenting shared a negative relationship with internalizing symptoms in the Florida sample, whereas no relationship was found in the Mississippi sample. For both samples, paternal, not maternal, corporal punishment and maternal, not paternal, psychological aggression were related positively to emerging adult internalizing problems. Overall, it was found that both parenting characteristics as well as associated outcomes differed by region, suggesting the need for increased awareness and sensitivity to these differences.     

Miller on Dumézil: The Current State of Play

Robert A. Segal, Joseph Campbell: An introduction. New York and London, Garland Publishing, 1987, $22.00

Lawrence A. Hoffman, Beyond the text: A holistic approach to liturgy. Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana University Press, 1987, 213 pp

Wesley A. Kort, Modern Fiction and Human Time: A Study in Narrative and Belief. Tampa, University of South Florida Press, 1985, pp. x + 227. $20.00.

Bentley Layton (ed.), The Gnostic Scriptures. London, SCM Press, 1987, pp. xiii + 526, £25.

H. H. the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, The Kālachakra Tantra : Rite of initiation for the stage of Generation, a commentary ; text edited, translated and introduced in Jeffrey Hopkins. London, Wisdom Publications, 1985, 511 pp. £11.95.     

In Defence of the Will Theory of Rights

Nicholas Vrousalis has aimed to recast an old objection to the will theory of rights by focusing on Hillel Steiner??s version of that theory. He has argued that Will Theory must either be insensitive to the (values of the) lives of the unempowerable, or be incomplete, because it has no argumentative resources within its conceptual apparatus to ascribe or justify restrictions on the amount of discretion exercised by legal officials. I show that both charges are problematic. They rely on some of Steiner??s inferences which are simply unjustified because they are based on misinterpretations of the logic of Hohfeld??s terminology. The problem for Vrousalis is that his critique takes for granted some of these flawed arguments. The critique is also misdirected to the extent that it assumes that the problems with Steiner??s theory affect Will Theory in general.     

An integrative process model of organizational commitment for working women and men

Previous organizational commitment models may not be complete since few combined more than one theory, none looked at gender differences, and nearly all ignored the impact of a feedback mechanisms on the overall process. A new model presented here shows a three-stage organizational commitment process. The first, or preorganizational, stage consists of personal characteristics. These are modified in stage two by job and other external characteristics, and in stage three all of these moderate the six independent variables that have major direct impact on organizational commitment. They are 1. need satisfaction, 2. work/job satisfaction, 3. job commitment, 4. work commitment, 5. role stress, and 6. personal/organizational goal congruence. Implications are discussed.Leonard H. Chusmir is an Associate Professor of Management at Florida International University. He received his Ph.D. in Management/Psychology from the University of Miami. He has written numerous articles for management, organizational behavior, and psychology journals, and presented papers at several academic conferences. He is the author of the bookMatching Individuals to Jobs: A Motivational Answer to Personnel and Guidance Professionals. AMACOM Books, 1985.     

STEPS TOWARD A COGNITIVE SCIENCE OF RELIGION

The article chronicles the different panels devoted tothe cognitive science of religion at the meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR) in Tampa, Florida, in November 2007. The aim is to verify the state of this subdiscipline and to check how much this work‐in‐progress affects the present state of the dialogue between science and religion. Several signs point to a positive development in this scientific branch and favor a sound reception in theology, which should not ignore the new research.     

Hillel and Confucius: The prescriptive formulation of the golden rule in the Jewish and Chinese Confucian ethical traditions

A prospective convert asked Hillel to teach him the entire Torahwhile standing on one foot. Hillel replied, “What is hateful to yourself, do not do to your fellow man. That isthe whole of Torah and the remainder is but commentary. Go and study it.” (Hillel:Shab. 31; emphasis added)Zigong: “Is there asingle word that can serve as a guide to conduct throughout one’s life?” Confucius said: “Perhaps the word ‘shu’, ‘reciprocity’: ‘Do not do to others what you would not want others to do to you’.” (Analects: 15.24; see alsoAnalects. 12 andZhongyong. 13.3; emphasis added)¹     

Why teach ethics in science and engineering?

The following views were presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Seminar “Teaching Ethics in Science and Engineering”, 10–11 February 1993 organized by Stephanie J. Bird (M.I.T.), Penny J. Gilmer (Florida State University) and Terrell W. Bynum (Southern Connecticut State University). Opragen Publications thanks the AAAS, seminar organizers and authors for permission to publish extracts from the conference. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not reflect the opinions of AAAS or its Board of Directors.     

Implementing Effective Educational Practices at Scales of Social Importance

Implementing evidence-based practices is becoming both a goal and standard across medicine, psychology, and education. Initial successes, however, are now leading to questions about how successful demonstrations may be expanded to scales of social importance. In this paper, we review lessons learned about scaling up evidence-based practices gleaned from our experience implementing school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) across more than 23,000 schools in the USA. We draw heavily from the work of Flay et al. (Prev Sci 6:151–175, 2005. doi: 10.1007/s11121-005-5553-y) related to defining evidence-based practices, the significant contributions from the emerging “implementation science” movement (Fixsen et al. in Implementation research: a synthesis of the literature, University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, The National Implementation Research Network (FMHI Publication #231), Tampa 2005), and guidance we have received from teachers, family members, students, and administrators who have adopted PBIS.     

Behavior modification and human rights: A legacy of Edward Stanton Sulzer, 1930-1970

Edward Stanton Sulzer was born in New York City on June 4, 1930. He attended school in Laureltown, N.Y., until the age of 15, when, after two years of high school, he was admitted into the University of Chicago. Leaving prematurely due to his mother's death, he returned to New York to work in film production. Sulzer completed his undergraduate work at the City College of New York, studying film production and psychology. In 1953 he entered the doctoral program in clinical psychology at Teachers College, Columbia. Spending two years in the Army during his graduate training, his work was completed in 1958. He then joined the faculty of the Upstate Medical School of the State University of New York, Department of Psychiatry, moving on two years later to the Psychiatry Department at the University of Minnesota. In 1965 Sulzer moved to assume the directorship of the Behavior Modification Program, in the Rehabilitation Institute at Southern Illinois University, where he remained until his death on February 28, 1970.In observance of the 10th anniversary of the death of Edward Stanton Sulzer, these reminiscences are presented. They describe how an individual psychologist could affect the professional and personal lives of many. Edward Sulzer is described in terms of the environment that shaped his values, how they affected the actions of his students and clients, and how they are reflected in current social policy. The account leads to a conclusion that the actions of single individuals may influence the course of human events.