Learning procedures and goal specificity in learning and problem-solving tasks

This experiment set out to examine the influence of two task variables (instructional procedure and goal specificity) on learning and problem-solving performance. A 2 × 2 between-subjects design was used. Twenty-four undergraduate students were asked to think aloud as they learned eight Word for Windows text editing operations, each implemented as a keyboard shortcut. Two instructional procedures were used, instructions presented either as lists or as paired statements. ''List'' groups required fewer trials than ''pairs'' groups to learn the operations, and relied more extensively upon rehearsal procedures, while ''pairs'' groups tended to use elaborative inference more frequently. Analyses of problem-solving solution times revealed no differences between the groups, although the no-goal groups tended to complete the tasks faster than the goal groups. Verbal protocols indicated that ''list'' groups tended to rely upon phonological cues to recover operation names, and made more phonological errors in recovering operation names. ''Pairs'' groups recalled more about the functions of the operations than the ''list'' groups. We conclude that different instructional procedures may lead to subtle, but important, differences in how information is encoded, represented, and recovered, and that individuals who perform to similar standards may not share the same understanding of the task in question.     

当代中国青少年理想的现状及影响因素研究

为考察当代中国青少年理想的现状及其影响因素,研究采用当代青少年理想调查问卷对全国12个省份的5000名青少年进行调研,结果发现当代中国青少年的理想水平较高,其中男生在身体理想方面的水平高于女生,在道德、人格、学业、生活和职业等理想方面的水平低于女生;初中生在道德、人格、生活和社会等理想方面的水平高于高中和大学低年级学生,在物质、身体、学业和职业等理想方面的水平低于大学低年级学生,而高中生的学业和职业理想的水平低于初中生和大学低年级学生。回归分析发现,父亲文化程度能够正向预测青少年的职业理想,母亲文化程度对青少年的生活理想有负向预测作用,家庭收入对青少年的物质、生活和身体理想有显著的正向预测作用。     

Just Plain "Ought'

Is there any sense to the idea of an ``ought''that is not relative to any particularnormative framework? This ``ought'' would not bea moral, prudential, legal, aesthetic, orreligious ``ought,'' but rather an unqualified or just plain ``ought.'' Thispaper (i) argues for the existence andusefulness of just plain ``ought''; (ii) locatesthe concept of just plain ``ought'' within amajor strand in the history of ethics (namely,the perennial attempt to demonstrate thatmorality and prudence are in harmony); and(iii) challenges David Copp's recent attempt toshow that in fact there is no such thing asjust plain ``ought.'' A theory of just plain``ought'' emerges along the way.     

THE FOREIGN VISIT SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING ITS USEFULNESS

Les visites à L'étranger: quelques propositions pour augmenter leur utilité. — L'auteur suggère quelques idées pout augmenter L'utilité pour les psychologues des visites à L'étranger; il propose plus spécialement, que les institutions préparent des textes qui donnent à L'avance à ceux qui envisagent de telles visites, des informations détaillées sur L'espace disponible, L'équipement statistique, L'atelier et les services généraux des laboratoires ainsi que sur les possibilités d'obtenir des sujets, sur les bibliothèques, etc… Il note qu'il est important que le visiteur puisse s'orienter le plus tôt possible, que L'on publie des informations sur la présence des visiteurs et souligne enfin la nécessité d'étudier empiriquement les effets qu'ont les visites à L'étranger sur les échanges internationaux qui s'ensuivent pour les participants.     

ORIENTATION AND PERCEPTION OF PICTORIAL DEPTH

Des échantillons d'écoliers zambiens et écossais sont soumis à une épreuve d'interprétation de dessin géométrique simple, présenté selon deux orientations: la figure est symétrique soit par rapport à L'axe vertical, soit par rapport à un axe incliné. Les résultats montrent que L'orientation affecte les réponses de L'échantillon écossais: les réponses bi-dimensionnelles sont plus fréquentes avec L'axe de symétrie vertical; mais ce n'est pas le cas pour les enfants zambiens. On ne constate aucun progrès dans la discrimination des deux orientations avec L'âge ou la scolarité dans L'échantillon zambien. L'auteur discute des implications de ces résultats.     

Removing Limits to Growth: Implementing Knowledge Sharing Loops between Operators and Engineers

The author describes the origin and the structure of the expertise of Improvement Engineers and Process Operators (Duncan, 1987). Engineers develop expertise by deduction : the top-down development of a production process. Operators develop expertise by induction : the manual intervention into a process (De Keyser, 1987). Thus the mental model of an Engineer is ''abstract'' and ''explicit'' (easy to document), while the mental model of an Operator is ''concrete'' and ''tacit''. Therefore, the author calls the expertise of Engineers explicit knowledge and the expertise of Operators tacit knowledge (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). The author also describes knowledge sharing loops which capture this tacit knowledge (Operators) and incorporate it into explicit knowledge (Engineers). The process produces Knowledge Based Solutions and Most Effective Technology (MET). The deployment of MET directly generates economic profit. Knowledge Based Solutions improve the troubleshooting skills of Operators and allow Engineers to focus on the deployment of MET. This new knowledge sharing process came out of a system analysis (Senge, 1990) embedded in a bottom-up business reengineering programme of the Styrenics Naturals Plant (SNP). Two years later, data show that this process creates value. But it is not robust. It's quickest gains are in process control and in product transitions.     

People vs God: The logic of ‘divine sovereignty' in Islamic democratic discourse

This paper aims at clarifying the role which the concept of 'divine sovereignty' plays in the discussions which are taking place among Islamic thinkers (and others) concerning the possibility of democracy in an Islamic context. It argues that 'sovereignty' has at least two meanings, one 'factual', the other 'normative'. The paper also argues that the second sense of 'sovereignty' allows us to construe talk of 'divine sovereignty' as an attempt by Islamic thinkers to go beyond the merely procedural views of democracy which focus on the familiar procedures of power contestation, election and accountability.     

PERCEPTION OF TIME IN LOWER-CLASS BLACK STUDENTS

Cette étude a pour objet la perception du temps chez des étudiants noirs américains de milieu socio-économique inférieur, par rapport à des étudiants de la classe moyenne. La perception du temps est étudiée en examinant les effets de la manipulation de l'éloignement temporel sur la probabilité subjective de succès à une épreuve, sur la valeur attribuée au succès et à l'échec et sur le degré d'aspiration. Deux groupes d'étudiants ont eu à choisir entre répondre à des questions de grande ou moyenne difficulté, au cours d'épreuves devant avoir lieu le jour même et un mois plus tard. Les épreuves furent présentées aux deux groupes en ordre temporel inverse. On obtient également des mesures de l'espérance de succès et de la valeur accordée au succès et à l'échec. Dans l'échantillon observé, l'éloignement temporel eut pour résultat d'abaisser le niveau d'aspiration des sujets alors que l'effet inverse avait été remarqué chez les étudiants de la classe moyenne. Une autre conséquence de cet éloignement fut une espérance de succès accrue pour les questions de difficulté moyenne, phénomène qui n'apparut pas pour les questions de grande difficulté. l'évaluation du succès et de l'échec ne fut pas affectée par l'éloignement temporel. En guise d'interprétation, on peut dire que les sujets noirs de milieu socio-économique inférieur ne manquent pas de perception instrumentale du temps (capacité de manipuler le temps), mais qu'ils perçoivent plutôt le temps comme un facteur d'un avantage insignifiant dans l'amélioration de leurs chances. Quelques implications des résultats et de la méthode sont également mentionnées.     

Theorising 'Talk' about 'Religious Pluralism' and 'Religious Harmony' in Singapore

This article aims to make sense of the discourse on 'religious pluralism' and 'religious harmony' in Singapore. My choice of the 'Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act' , passed in 1990, to launch this inquiry is by no means accidental or random. I argue that in addition to an empirical domain, it is a central analytical tool that has provided an occasion for the articulation of a range of taken-for-granted statements about 'religion', 'religious pluralism', and 'religious harmony' in Singapore. I map out how the religious scene is discussed by various parties. The inevitability of Singapore's multi-religiosity, the fragility of religious harmony, and the need for constant vigilance are dominant strands. The article addresses these related areas: a brief historical contextualisation of religion in secular Singapore is followed by a condensed narrative of the conditions and deliberations leading to the Act. Further, the discourse on religious harmony from the early 1990s is juxtaposed to present concerns about religion and religious encounters in Singapore. The intention for this is two-fold: to see if there have been any major shifts in such 'talk, and to use the empirical material to call for the re-conceptualisation of categories/notions, such as 'religious pluralism' and 'religious harmony'.     

Emotional Impulsivity in Children with ADHD Associated with Comorbid—Not ADHD—Symptomatology

Children with ADHD often demonstrate sudden and intense shifts in both positive and negative affect. This study examined the role of diagnostic status on emotional impulsivity in children utilizing ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Parents of 64 8–12 year old children (15 ADHD-only; 27 ADHD-comorbid; 22 control) completed a diagnostic structured interview and then an EMA protocol, rating the child’s affect thrice daily for 28 days. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) suggested that children with ADHD and a comorbid disorder demonstrated significantly more EMA-derived emotional impulsivity than children with ADHD only and control children. No difference was found between children with ADHD only and control children. This study suggested that children with ADHD demonstrate significantly higher levels of emotional impulsivity than control children only in the presence of a comorbid disorder.     

Book Reviews

In his famous lecture on Kant's essay 'An Answer to the Question What is Enlightenment' Foucault distinguished between two traditions in modern philosophy coming out of Kant's work: 'an analytic of truth' and 'an ontology of present reality [ actualité ]' or 'a genealogy of ourselves'. The paper presents this distinction as a fruitful displacement of the distinction between 'analytic' and 'continental' philosophy,which gives the latter precise cultural and philosophical meaning. The paper clarifies the distinction and argues that almost without exception, analytic philosophers are not interested -in their capacity as philosophers - in interpreting and understanding their historical present. Some possible reasons and some possible consequences of this lack of interest are examined briefly. Within the continental tradition itself, two major contemporary forms of 'an ontology of present reality' are distinguished, one exemplified by Habermas and the other by Foucault. The difference between these two forms of 'taking aim at the heart of the present' (to use Habermas' phrase) is explicated as a difference between distinct genres of critical discourse, or forms of critique. The difference is presented in respect to two major aspects: historical time and historicity, and critique's mode of engagement with 'an analytic of truth'. The last point, namely the presence of a crucial analytic moment in the philosophical interpretation of present reality, suggests a possible modification of the initial distinction between the two philosophical traditions.     

Personal Identity and the Importance of One's Own Body: A Response to Derek Parfit

In this essay I take issue with Derek Parfit's reductionist account of personal identity.Parfit is concerned to respond to what he sees as flaws in the conception of the role of 'person' in self-interest theories. He attempts to show that the notion of a person as something over and above a totality of mental and physical states and events (in his words, a 'further fact'), is empty, and so, our ethical concerns must be based on something other than this. My objections centre around the claim that Parfit employs an impoverished conception of 'life'. Parfit misconceives the connection between 'I' and one's body, and, so, despite his rejection of a metaphysical conception of 'self', remains within the logic of Cartesianism. What Parfit and other reductionists call an 'impersonal' perspective, I shall call the third-person perspective: a perspective which one in general may take. Against Parfit I shall offer a more complex conception of 'self' through the concept of 'bodily perspective'. I emphasize the irreducible ambiguities of human embodiment in order to show the presuppositions and the limitations of Parfit's view. Of interest is the conception of time and the model of continuity that is appropriate to an embodied subject's life. I employ Paul Ricoeur's concept of 'human time' to argue that the reflective character of human experience demands a model of temporality and continuity that differs significantly from the one Parfit employs.     

THE FORMATION OF FRIENDSHIPS AMONG ZAMBIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Les recherches aux Etats-Unis ont fait apparaître une relation entre distance psychologique et distance physique. A L'Université de Zambie, en raison des particularités géographiques du campus et de la complexité sociale du corps étudiant, on peut pousser plus loin L'étude de la relation entre espace et liens sociaux. L'analyse des schémas d'amitié entre étudiants montre que les relations spatiales ont un certain rôle dans L'établissement des liens interpersonnels, mais que les facteurs sociaux et psychologiques sont plus déterminants. Il apparaît comme on pouvait s'y attendre, que dans la plupart des cas, L'amitié s'établit avec un partenaire de même sexe, de même âge et surtout de la même école d'origine. Les facteurs linguistiques ou tribaux sont sans importance: ils semblent dépassés par un sentiment grandissant d'appartenance à une élite. Les étudiants zambiens ont un comportement insulaire bien que non chauvin: ils ont peu d'amis parmi les étudiants qui viennent d'autres parties d'Afrique et aucun parmi les quelques étudiants blancs. La religion joue un grand rôle, ce qui n'a rien d'étonnant dans une société où L'influence des écoles et de la morale des missions n'a pas encore disparu. Les étudiants zambiens sont aussi individualistes dans le choix de leurs amis que les étudiants de n'importe quel autre pays. Ils semblent souvent plus solitaires et avoir plus grand besoin d'un confident que les étudiants anglais et suf-africains.     

The 'Ergi' Seidman: Contestations of Gender,Shamanism and Sexuality in Northern Religion Past and Present

'Seidr' is a term used in this paper to describe certain 'shamanistic' practices of Northern Europe, mentioned in the Icelandic Sagas. Today, seidr practices are reappearing as 'neo-shamanism' in areas of Europe and North America. Both today and in the past, seidr is often thought of as 'women's magic', although it is also practised by men. In this article, seidr and other 'shamanisms' are viewed as dynamic, specific practices framed by community and cosmology, with potential for empowerment and resistance. We examine some accounts of men as sei workers, from 'saga times' and from present-day seidmen in North America and Europe, to investigate contestations of gender and sexuality that are implicit in the practice of seidr. The term 'ergi', applied as an insult to seidmen and often understood with reference to sexuality, may more reasonably be interpreted as a stock insult based on fear: some seidmen are now reclaiming it to describe their construction of self. Within 'postmodern' society, male seidr practitioners may resist conventional definitions of masculinity, thereby creating changes within themselves and their communities.     

De la prise en charge de la progression de l'interlocuteur vers un but à l'autorégulation des entreprises cognitives

Lorsque la visée de la communication est de comprendre et de se faire comprendre, les processus d'échange d'information requièrent le monitorage, tant intra qu'interpersonnel, de la progression vers le but à chaque étape de l'entreprise socio-cognitive. J. H. Flavell a puissamment contribué à éclairer les composantes cognitives de ce monitorage. Après avoir rappelé les principaux éléments de sa contribution, pertinents pour l'analyse des processus de communication, nous introduisons la dimension constituée par l'interaction interpersonnelle dans le monitorage. Nous essayons d'apporter des éléments montrant que c'est au coeur des échanges que s'effectue sa prise en charge cognitive. Nous poursuivons l'examen de la collaboration entre interlocuteurs en vue d'assurer la transmission de l'information au sein des structures de l'échange en pointant en particulier le monitorage et les régulations interpersonnelles. Enfin, nous situons notre point de vue parmi les théories ayant cherché à définir le rôle éventuellement structurant des interactions sociales dans l'acquisition d'expertise. Selon nous, les habiletés s'installent d'abord largement grâce à la communication de type asymétrique, une variété de processus étant en jeu alternativement, puis elles sont intériorisées—appropriées alors par le sujet qui devient capable de monitorer sa propre activité d'après les modèles observés d'abord chez autrui.     

Aleksej Losev's Antiutopia

This article is devoted not only to Losev'sphilosophical works, but also to his fiction,which he created during 1930s and 1940s.Losev's eight books of the 1920s (his``octateuch'') combine into a single whole thatamounts to his philosophy of life and historydepicted in expressive images. At the same timeLosev's ``octateuch'' strikes one as having beenwritten at a single sitting and in a singlestyle, in a genre that can be identified as the``philosophical novel'' having as much right asSpengler's opus to be called an ``intellectualnovel.'' In his prose of the 1930s and 1940sLosev tries with artistic methods to resolvethe philosophical problems which he raised inhis works of the 1920s. Losev's ``octateuch'' andhis fiction are directed against thosecontemporary materialists who seek to embodyPlato's Republic, whom he christens``soil-less nihilist idealist utopians.'' All ofthis leads to the conclusion that Losev'sintellectual novel belongs to a definite andmore specific subgenre. It is undoubtedly ananti-utopia, full of the grotesque. In additionto its scientific and social orientation,Losev's anti-utopia is also religious innature. Thus Losev not only depicts the realconsequences of utopian dreams, but also turnsto the ``life of the artist,'' which is far fromany technological or social utopias but isfilled with another, no less terrifying ornihilistic utopia: that of the non-religiousexistence of the human person. Losev preservedhis anti-utopian and anti-nihilist viewsthrough his late period (1950s–1980s), despitethe care he took not to cross Sovietcensorship. Losev's anti-utopia is the kind ofChristian realism to which he appealedthroughout his life.     

A LABORATORY INVESTIGATION OF SOCIAL CLASS AND NATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN HELPING BEHAVIOR

Etude au laboratoire des différences dans le comportement d'entraide selon la nationalité et la classe sociale. —Le même plan d'expérience a été réalisé à Madison (Wisconsin) et à Oxford (Angleterre) pour déterminer si les adolescents appartenant à différentes classes sociales obéissent aux mêmes principes dans l'aide qu'ils apportent aux camarades qui dépendent d'eux. Les adolescents de Madison appartiennent à des families de la classe moyenne ((I) petits industriels, commerçants, artisans, (2) employés de bureau) ou de la classe ouvrière. Les adolescents d'Oxford proviennent seulement de la classe moyenne des employés ou de la classe ouvrière. Dans les deux échantillons, le sujet est d'abord amené à croire qu'un camarade lui a apporté beaucoup ou peu d'aide quand lui-même en avait besoin pour gagner un concours. Dans la phase suivante qui est supposée impliquer un concours sans rapport avec le premier, le sujet a l'occasion d'aider la personne qui a été son partenaire ou une tout autre personne. Les résultats de Madison montrent, conformément à l'hypothèse, que les sujets appartenant à la classe des petits industriels, commerçants et artisans ont plus tendance à agir selon une conception de simple échange. Plus que les adolescents de la classe des employés ou de la classe ouvrière, ils croient que les gens s'attendent à ce qu'ils travaillent dur pour une autre personne seulement dans la mesure où ils ont eux-mêmes bénéficié d'une telle situation et ils font des efforts au profit du camarade qui dépend d'eux, dans l'attente d'une réciprocité de type « donner et recevoir ». A Oxford, les sujets de la classe ouvrière sont plus orientés vers la réciprocité que les fils d'employés. Quelques difficultés d'ordre méthodologique sont discutées, mais l'A. pense que les tentatives actuelles pour analyser l'interaction sociale en termes d'échange économique ne peuvent être également appliquées à toutes les classes sociales.     

A Spiritual Dimension to Sex Education?

This article engages in a preliminary exploration from a broadly philosophical perspective of the notion of a 'spiritual dimension' to sex education. An inescapable 'value' dimension to sex education is recognized, and the possibility that this might include a 'spiritual' dimension is pursued in the light of a consideration of the nature of the spiritual domain. A distinction is drawn between 'religiously tethered' and 'religiously untethered' conceptions of spirituality and four strands characteristic of the spiritual domain are outlined. Possibilities relating to a 'spiritual' dimension in sex education are identified in relation to each of the strands and their value and justification are discussed in relation to common school and separate religious schools, respectively.     

Understanding Middle School Students’ Physical Activity and Health-Related Quality of Life: An Expectancy-Value Perspective

Assessing and promoting physical activity and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) have become major public health issues, but little is known regarding HRQOL and its relation with physical activity in adolescents. This study attempted to examine relationships among middle school students’ motivation, physical activity, and HRQOL by using the expectancy-value model as a theoretical framework. Participants were 282 middle school students who responded to a previously validated inventory assessing their motivation, physical activity, and HRQOL. Correlation analyses revealed that expectancy-related beliefs and task values were positively related to physical activity and HRQOL. Physical activity was positively associated with physical, emotional, and social functioning of HRQOL. Regression analyses showed a significant relationship between increasing expectancy-related beliefs and increasing degrees of HRQOL. This research line is promising in that it can provide useful information regarding the translation of theory to practice in influencing adolescents’ physical activity and HRQOL.