Advanced Research and Training Seminars (ARTS) Report on ARTS 2002

This article reports on the Advanced Research and Training Seminars (ARTS) program that was held in Singapore during July, 2002. The seminars were sponsored jointly by the three international psychology associations—the International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS), the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP), and the International Association for Cross‐Cultural Psychology (IACCP). ARTS is an educational program for psychologists from low‐income (developing and in‐transition) countries. The seminars are held in proximity of the international congresses each even‐numbered year to enable participants to attend one or more congresses in addition to receiving specialized instruction. Also, it is expected that the educational benefits to participants will extend to their students and colleagues with whom they interact on return to their home countries.     

How international is psychology?

Psychology claims to be an international discipline. This claim has been based upon subjective estimates of attendance at international congresses, status reports from selected countries published within edited volumes, and a survey of the member countries of the International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS) (Rosenzweig, 1992). However, to be truly international, the work of psychologists in countries around the world must be internationally disseminated. Systematic examination of international congress presentations and abstracts of published psychological literature indexed on widely available electronic databases (e.g., PsycLIT) provides a more objective means of documenting the international presence of psychology. In this article, counts by country were made of research contributions reported within PsycLIT and on the programs of International Congresses of Applied Psychology over the five years in which the congresses were held from 1982 to 1998. Analyses of these data revealed PsycLIT to be more international in scope than previously assumed—45% of its entries were by authors from outside the US. Coverage of research from developing countries was even more limited within PsycLIT (4.67%), but proportionally greater within international congresses (10%). PsycLIT entries not in the English language were found noticeably to have declined from approximately 12–14% levels in the 1980s to only about 6% in the 1990s. An index of the presence of psychology in each country, based upon presentations at IAAP congresses, memberships in international associations, and the extent of PsycLIT entries over the previous three decades, provided an objective, empirically‐based answer to the question ‘How International is Psychology?' This index indicated that psychology has a significant presence in 47 countries, a presence in another 22 countries, but minimal or no presence in 82 other countries. The meaning of these data for the discipline and ways in which psychology's worldwide presence might be strengthened and extended were discussed.     

Psychology through international congresses: differences between regions, countries, and congresses

A published database of presentations from the seven most recent International Congresses of Applied Psychology (ICAPs) was compared to a similar but unpublished database (Adair, Anguas-Plata, Unik, & Radons, 2009) on the International Congresses of Psychology (ICPs) for the years 1996-2004. Analyses revealed phenomena characteristic of attendance at both international congresses: Participation rates spike dramatically for host countries; less dramatic regional surges in participation occur when the congress is held in a neighbouring country. Psychologists from 117 different countries participated in the seven recent congresses (ICAP and ICP) from 1994 to 2006. Overall ICP was double the size of ICAP, and represented a larger set of countries at each of its congresses. Regardless of location, most participants at both congresses came from the same 11 economically advantaged and seven majority-world countries. Congress presentations are dispersed across a much larger number of countries than are journal publications. The USA, for example, had modest 14.4% (ICAP) and 11.6% (ICP) presentation rates, much smaller than its majority share of publications (Adair, 2009 ). By contrast, the USA had the greater share of invited addresses at both ICAP (33.7%) and ICP (28.9%) congresses. Nonetheless, the majority-world countries contributing to both ICAP and ICP are clearly indicative of where the discipline is gaining strength and importance to international psychology. The emergence of Iran as a new leading national contributor to the two most recent international congresses, and the rise in the proportion of presentations by majority-world psychologists at ICAPs from only about one in five to more than one of every three presentations in recent congresses are findings consistent with Zakaria's (2008) analysis of changes taking place in the world. Within international congresses, certainly, the "rise of the rest" is changing the face of international psychology.     

Some methodological aspects of ethics committees’ expertise: The Ukrainian example

Today local, national and international ethics committees have become an effective means of social regulation in many European countries. Science itself is an important precondition for the development of bioethical knowledge and ethics expertise. Cultural, social, historical and religious preconditions can facilitate different forms and methods of ethics expertise in each country. Ukrainian ethics expertise has some methodological problems connected with its socio-cultural, historical, science and philosophy development particularities. In this context, clarification of some common legitimacies or methodological approaches to ethics committee (EC) phenomena such as globalization, scientization and the prioritization of an ethics paradigm are very important. On the other hand, elaborate study and critical analysis of international experience by Ukraine and other Eastern European countries will provide the integration of their local and national ethics expertises into a world bioethics ethos. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 6th International Bioethics Conference entitled ‘The Responsible Conduct of Basic and Clinical Research’, held in Warsaw, Poland, 3–4 June 2005.     

Motivations and Constraints of Moving Abroad for Indian Students

Faced with a situation in which countries compete for international students, it becomes especially important to understand students’ preferences regarding migration behaviour. This paper looks at the determinants of international mobility intentions in the specific situation of Indian students in sciences and engineering. It uses the collected data from the survey held among students at five Indian universities and complements it with qualitative data from interviews. We looked at the role of students’ personal and family background, university-related factors, their social network and preferences for living location in their motivations for moving abroad. The type of university and field of studies work as strong predictors for students’ desired move abroad. Whether a student plans a career in academia or wants to work in a company has a decisive influence on where they see themselves in the near future. Professional aspects are confirmed to be the most prominent in the decision-making regarding international mobility. People who place high importance on work-related factors are more mobile, while people who place higher importance on family-friendly environment and public safety prefer staying in India. International student mobility is obviously a family decision. Parents’ support is crucial for moving abroad, in moral as well as in financial terms. Normally, obligations towards family are put in the first place ahead of potential individual initiatives.     

Attempting science: the creation and early development of the Institut métapsychique international in Paris, 1919-1931

In 1919, the Institut métapsychique international (IMI) held its first meeting in Paris. With their choice of a name, the founders made their intentions clear. By using the term métapsychique rather than the more common sciences psychiques, they indicated a departure from previous enterprises of such kind in France. By attaching the label international to it, they signified that this orientation was to affect not just French research on psychical phenomena, but that of the whole community. This article tells the story of the first 12 years of the IMI in its attempts to impose a program of research and to incorporate psychical phenomena into the scientific corpus in particular ways. The article ends in 1931 with a spectacular attempt by members of the IMI to dominate the international psychical research community. The failures of the IMI, both with psychical researchers and the scientific community in general, are explained here in terms of characteristics of the institute and the field itself.     

Human genome research in an interdependent world.

This has been the year of agenda-setting conferences for the ambitious ELSI (ethical, legal and social issues) program of the Human Genome Project (HGP). But of the dozen or more major meetings of this sort held across the country, the one held at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD, June 2-4, 1991, was distinctive in several respects. As its name implies, "Human Genome Research in an Interdependent World" was a global look at the issues raised by gene mapping and sequencing. Unlike previous conferences, however, this meeting looked beyond a comparative analysis of clinical and domestic legal issues, and concentrated on topics that may require responses on a truly international level if they are to be successfully resolved....[Capron served as general chairman of the conference]     

Hindsight Lessons aka Experiential Wisdom: A Review of the XXV ICAP

Voici un résumé et un compte rendu évaluatif du XXV Congrès International de Psychologie Appliquée (ICAP) qui s'est tenu du 7 au 12 juillet 2002 au Suntec Convention Center à Singapour. Ce sont au total 1659 personnes provenant de 66 pays qui se sont inscrites au Congrès. Le programme scientifique comprenait 54 communications de personnalités invitées, 884 propositions individuelles d'intervention orale ou de poster et 130 symposiums d'une demi-heure répartis dans 12 sessions parallèles. Différents critères peuvent être retenus pour évaluer le succés de cette recontre. Une première pour ce Congrès fut l'exploitation des nouvelles technologies dans la conception et al réalisation du programme scientifique par un comité international. Ce rapport examine les points où des améliorations seraient envisageables et conclut sur des recommendations dont les futurs Congrès pourront tirer profit.
This is a summary and evaluation report on the XXV International Congress of Applied Psychology (ICAP), held from 7 to 12 July 2002 at the Suntec Convention Center, Singapore. A total of 1,659 persons from 66 countries registered for the Congress. The scientific program included 54 invited addresses, 884 individual submissions for oral and poster presentations, and 130 1–2 hour symposia in 12 concurrent sessions. Various criteria are suggested as possible indexes to evaluate the success of the Congress. A first for this Congress was the harnessing of global electronic technology in the development and delivery of the Scientific Program by an international committee. The report details possible areas for improvement, and concludes with recommendations for future ICAP congresses.     

Witnesses to Reality: Working Psychodynamically With Survivors of Terror 1

As generations of young men and women return from combat scarred not only physically but also psychologically by their experiences, as civil wars and genocide proliferate and refugees seek sanctuary in America from persecution in their native countries, even while others are held in violation of their international human rights by the United States government, this paper asks what role psychoanalysts can play in working with those who have survived violence and terror as adults. Offering a relational formulation of adult onset trauma, the author reviews some of the difficulties inherent in being called upon to bear witness to destructive social forces. The paper concludes with the case of a man who has been detained in Guantanamo Bay for the last 6 years.     

Computer facilitation of communication within professional communities

This report is based on several projects at the University of Michigan. The software used is CONFER, a computer-augmented conferencing program. Access is provided nationally through TELENET data services. The paper describes hardware and software for information systems at the University of Michigan, the development of CONFER, and a rationale for computer-aided communication within professional communities. Six applications of this particular software and system are summarized: national committees, regional planning groups, on-campus working groups, and user consulting services. One innovative application (support of an international congress held recently in Ann Arbor) is described in detail. Computer-based conununications were used for sending messages, adjusting schedules, planning additional sessions and trips, and developing written material through computer-mediated caucuses on specific topics. Contributions of computing to professional communications are summarized, with particular attention given to projected impact on teaching and research in universities.     

Effects of Sesame Street: A meta-analysis of children's learning in 15 countries

Sesame Street is broadcast to millions of children globally, including in some of the world's poorest regions. This meta-analysis examines the effects of children's exposure to international co-productions of Sesame Street, synthesizing the results of 24 studies, conducted with over 10,000 children in 15 countries. The results indicated significant positive effects of exposure to the program, aggregated across learning outcomes, and within each of the three outcome categories: cognitive outcomes, including literacy and numeracy; learning about the world, including health and safety knowledge; social reasoning and attitudes toward out-groups. The effects were significant across different methods, and they were observed in both low- and middle-income countries and also in high-income countries. The results are contextualized by considering the effects and reach of the program, relative to other early childhood interventions.     

The CIOMS view on the use of placebo in clinical trials

Based on worldwide consultations with experts in science and ethics the revised CIOMS 2002 International Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research Involving Human Subjects provide guidance on when the use of placebo as a comparator in clinical research is ethically acceptable. The article reviews the main points of the CIOMS Guidelines and commentaries including the use of placebo in situations where the best current method is available and the relation of placebo to established effective intervention. It discusses the use of placebo in externally sponsored research in low-resource countries and requirements for informed consent related to placebo studies. An earlier version of this paper was presented at an international conference, “Placebo: Its Action and Place in Health Research Today,” held in Warsaw, Poland on 12–13 April, 2003.     

Mapping the state of the field of social psychology in Africa and patterns of collaboration between African and international social psychologists

Patterns of collaboration in social psychology from 2000 to 2010 were mapped to analyse the position of African authors in the international co‐authorship network using bibliographic records from the Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge. There are very few social psychologists working in Africa, with the majority of these located in South Africa. Indeed, some small European countries boast more social psychologists than the entire continent of Africa. African authors published less than their non‐African collaborators, but had comparable status on joint publications. Co‐authorship relationships between African researchers from different African countries were generally mediated by partners from other continents, and direct collaboration between non‐compatriot African authors was very rare. The small size, and extremely sparse connection of the African co‐authorship network, is likely to be an obstacle both in the development of social psychology as a universally relevant discipline and in the penetration of social psychological knowledge in Africa.     

A Review of Parenting Programs in Developing Countries: Opportunities and Challenges for Preventing Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties in Children

Many children in developing countries are at risk of emotional and behavioral difficulties, which are likely to be elevated due to the effects of poverty. Parenting programs have shown to be effective preventative strategies in high-income countries, but to date the research on their effectiveness in lower-income countries is limited. International organizations such as the World Health Organization have called for the implementation of programs to prevent behavioral difficulties through the development of stable relationships between children and their parents. The aim of the present paper was to review the literature on parenting programs in developing countries in order to identify challenges, opportunities and directions for further research. First, reports of international organizations were reviewed in order to gain a preliminary overview of the field. In a second stage, a non-systematic review was carried out. Databases were searched in order to identify empirical evaluations of parenting programs in low-income countries. Finally, a systematic review was carried out to specifically identify evaluations of programs targeting emotional or behavioral outcomes. Only one study had a strong methodology among those designed to prevent emotional and behavioral outcomes. Opportunities for further program development and research are identified.     

Biomedical research and mining of the poor: The need for their exclusion

Almost all ethical guidelines and legislative policies concerning biomedical research involving human subjects contain provisions about relevance of research for the participating populations, informed consent, adequate care for research induced injuries and several other safeguards but the poor continue to suffer. Globalization has further aggravated poor people’s vulnerability by exposing them to international markets. Since the developing countries are abode of higher population of the poor they have become the unholy mines of this human ore for researchers. In this paper I examine various dimensions of poverty and analyze the international ethical responses in the area of biomedical research involving human subjects in order to determine their adequacy to protect the poor against exploitation and misuse and conclude that in view of the poor’s inherent and extreme vulnerability and the failure of ethical pronouncements to protect them from misuse and exploitation, they should be excluded from being enrolled as research subjects This paper was presented at the 6th International Bioethics Conference on the subject of ‘The Responsible Conduct of Basic and Clinical Research’, held in Warsaw, Poland, 3–4 June 2005.     

Old dogs,new tricks – Rethinking country‐image studies

In international marketing, countries are often conceptualised as image constructs that have an influence on product image formation. Destination image and country of origin image are held to account for bias in consumer perceptions towards products because of the country from which they originate. Studies in these areas are typically underpinned by attitude‐based Likert or semantic differential scale methods, analysed using structural equation models. This paper achieves two key outcomes. Firstly, it adds to the small but growing body of literature that looks at the impact of tourism on post‐tour, export product evaluations. Secondly, it compares this traditional attitude‐based approach to country‐image studies with an alternative associative network theory approach, operationalised with a free‐choice, pick‐any survey method, which is popular within the branding literature. We compare the two methods by applying each to the same set of respondents to establish if the two methods are complementary, and find they produce different outcomes that could have critical implications for how country‐image studies are conceptualised and executed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Psychology and modern life challenges: the 2nd Middle East and North Africa Regional Conference of Psychology, Amman, Jordan, 2007

The Second Middle East and North Africa Regional Conference of Psychology was held in Amman from 27 April - 1 May 2007 under the Royal Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah and the auspices of the International Union of Psychological Science, the International Association of Applied Psychology, and the International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology. It was hosted by the Jordanian Psychological Association whose President was Dr. Asaad Zuby. The President of the Conference and the Local Organizing Committee was Dr. Adnan Farah, the Chair of the Scientific Program Committee was Dr. Mohammad Rimawi, and the Chair of the Regional Advisory Committee was Dr. Marwan Dwairy. The Conference succeeded in attracting participants from 28 countries, including 15 from the Middle East and North Africa region. The Scientific Program explored ways and means to promote the role of psychology in meeting life challenges at regional and international levels. The Conference concluded with the signing of a formal Declaration which called upon governments, academic and professional institutions and organizations, non-governmental organization and other civil society groups, and the United Nations, to work together and to make every possible effort individually and collectively to achieve these goals.     

The definition of adequate care in externally sponsored clinical trials: The terminological controversy about the concept “standard of care”

The treatment of the control group in externally sponsored clinical trials is the issue of one of the most heated debates in international research ethics. The paradigmatic cases are the mother-to-child HIV-transmission trials that took place in 16 developing countries in 1997, where the control group received a placebo while proven treatment was available in industrialized countries. From this circumstance results the controversy as to whether the sponsor and researchers of externally sponsored trials have to supply a treatment that is usually not available in the host country. From the beginning of the debate the controversial level of treatment has been called “standard of care”. However, besides the disagreement about the quality of the care that has to be supplied, there is as yet no widely accepted clear meaning of this concept. This article examines the fundamental ambiguity of the term and its formal function as an ethical criterion including suggestions on its further use. This paper was presented at the 6th International Bioethics Conference on the subject of ‘The Responsible Conduct of Basic and Clinical Research’, held in Warsaw, Poland, 3–4 June 2005.     

Toward Increasing Fairness in Score Scale Calibrations Employed in International Large-Scale Assessments

In this article, we investigate the creation of comparable score scales across countries in international assessments. We examine potential improvements to current score scale calibration procedures used in international large-scale assessments. Our approach seeks to improve fairness in scoring international large-scale assessments, which often ignore item misfit in score scale calibrations. We also seek to obtain improved model-data fit estimates when calibrating international score scales. To this end, we examine the use of two alternative score scale calibration procedures: (a) a language-based score scale and (b) a more parsimonious international scale wherein a large proportion of international parameters are used with a subset of country-based parameters for items that misfit in the international scale. In our analyses, we used data from all 40 countries participating in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study. Our findings revealed that current score scale calibration procedures yield large numbers of misfitting items (higher than 25% for some countries). Our proposed approach diminished the effects of proportion of item misfit on score scale calibrations and also yielded enhanced model-data fit estimates. These results lead to enhancing confidence in measurements obtained from international large-scale assessments.     

the global career development facilitator credential: an international perspective

The Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) credential was established to provide professional training and standards for individuals working in the career field. GCDF programs are now available in the United States and 10 other countries. The authors highlight the first international GCDF program in New Zealand, new online GCDF training in Canada, and other other recent GCDF developments.