Need satisfaction,work–school interference and school dropout: An application of self-determination theory

Background. In many parts of the world, it is common for secondary school students to be involved in part-time employment. Research shows that working can have a negative impact on school engagement. However, the majority of studies have focused on the amount of time that students spend working rather than on the quality of work experience and its influence on school engagement. Aims. This study explored the relation of part-time work and school experiences to dropout intentions among secondary school and junior college students. The study was conceptualized from a self-determination theory perspective (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Sample. Participants were 3,248 students from rural and suburban schools in the greater region of Montreal, Canada. Method. Questionnaires were used to assess the number of hours worked, the extent to which work interfered with or facilitated school functioning, autonomy, competence, and relatedness experienced in the work and school domains. School performance and school dropout intentions were also assessed. Results. A curvilinear relation between work hours and dropout intentions was found, reflecting that part-time work began to be associated with higher dropout intentions only when students worked more than 7 hr per week. Analyses also showed that work–school interference was related to dropout intentions, and that this variable served to mediate the relation of employer autonomy support to dropout intentions. Conclusions. These results suggest that both the quantity and the quality of students’ part-time work experiences need to be considered when examining the relation of work to school engagement.     

An Internet-Based Cognitive-Behavioural Training for Acute Tinnitus: Secondary Analysis of Acceptance in Terms of Satisfaction,Trial Attrition and Non-Usage Attrition

Objectives: Recent studies on tinnitus have focused on the efficacy of Internet-based interventions. Other core features of the quality of service, e.g. acceptance and attrition, have often been overlooked. This study analyses Internet-based training regarding acceptance and attrition in a trial on minimal-contact interventions for acute tinnitus. Whenever possible, we give information on other forms of training for comparison. Methods: In a randomised controlled trial with 337 participants, 87 persons took part in the Internet training. Results: The participants were as satisfied with the Internet-based training as with a face-to-face group training. There was a 34.48% dropout from the Internet-based training (dropout attrition). The training attrition from the Internet-based training was even higher at 64.4%. Conclusions: Two out of three indicators for acceptance—satisfaction and dropout attrition—provide comparable results between the Internet-based training and a face-to-face group training. The third indicator, training attrition, shows a better result for the group training. Future research should focus on attrition in order to enhance the overall effectiveness of training.     

Is STEM running out of steam for Asian Americans? College admissions officers' perceptions of applicants

While many people view Asian Americans as ‘model minorities’ who excel in math, science and music, they are also negatively stereotyped as nerdy and unsociable. Research has shown that Asian Americans have to outperform other races academically to receive equal consideration by colleges. This study is the first to test whether this bias is directed towards all Asian Americans or only those who fit the model minority stereotype. The present experiment investigates the effect of race and stereotypes on perceptions of students in the college admission process. College admission officers (N = 79) were randomly assigned to view a shortened version of a college application. The participants rated the student whose application they saw according to likelihood of being accepted into college, social competence, academic competence and contribution to a college's diversity. The stereotypical Asian American student was perceived to be significantly less likely to be accepted into college and had a lower perceived social competence than the other three students. Additionally, students who participated in counter‐stereotypical Asian activities were perceived as being more likely to be accepted, more socially competent and to contribute more diversity than students who participated in stereotypical Asian activities. A multiple regression revealed that social competence was the only significant predictor of likely acceptance. This study suggests that rather than all Asian American students being disadvantaged in the college admissions process, it is only those who fit common stereotypes who are affected.     

The philosophy of science at the turn of the millenium

Abstract

Central to a new, or ‘resolute’, reading of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus LogicoPhilosophicus is the idea that Wittgenstein held there an ‘austere’ view of nonsense: the view, that is, that nonsense is only ever a matter of our failure to give words a meaning, and so that there are no logically distinct kinds of nonsense. Resolute readers tend not only to ascribe such a view to Wittgenstein, but also to subscribe to it themselves; and it is also a feature of some readings which in other respects are clearly not Resolute. This paper forms part of a reply to Hans-Johann Glock’s work in which he argues (in part) that Wittgenstein in the Tractatus held a view of nonsense other than the austere view. Instead, Glock argues, Wittgenstein there held that there are many logically distinct kinds of nonsense. Here, I outline and defend the austere view, together with its attribution to the early Wittgenstein, against a number of Glock’s criticisms, and focussing especially on Wittgenstein’s reformulation in the Tractatus of Frege’s context-principle.     

The Meaning of Life Sub Specie Aeternitatis

Several philosophers have argued that if we examine our lives in context of the cosmos at large, sub specie aeternitatis, we cannot escape life's meaninglessness. To see our lives as meaningful, we have to shun the point of view of the cosmos and consider our lives only in the narrower context of the here and now. I argue that this view is incorrect: life can be seen as meaningful also sub specie aeternitatis. While criticizing arguments by, among others, Simon Blackburn, Nicholas Rescher, and Thomas Nagel, I show that what determines assessments of the meaning of a life are the standards of meaningfulness one endorses rather than the size of the context in which that life is assessed. Employing non-demanding standards of meaningfulness to assess a life is compatible with examining it in the context of the cosmos at large. That is also the case if we accept Nagel's claim that to examine a life sub specie aeternitatis is to examine it externally, impersonally and objectively: life can be evaluated as meaningful also when under these perspectives if the standards of meaningfulness we adopt are not overly challenging. Nor does the contingency of our existence, realized sub specie aeternitatis, render our life meaningless. Contrary to a commonly accepted view, then, examining our lives sub specie aeternitatis does not necessitate that we see them as meaningless.     

Armchair Disagreement

A commonly neglected feature of the so‐called Equal Weight View, according to which we should give our peers’ opinions the same weight we give our own, is its prima facie incompatibility with the common picture of philosophy as an armchair activity: an intellectual effort to seek a priori knowledge. This view seems to imply that our beliefs are more likely to be true if we leave our armchair in order to find out whether there actually are peers who, by disagreeing with us, force us to revise our beliefs. This article argues that the Equal Weight View should be spelled out in such a way that not only actual peer disagreement requires us to revise our beliefs, but also merely possible peer disagreement. This result is not a reductio ad absurdum of the view. Quite the opposite: it shows that the view is, contrary to appearance, compatible with our common way of doing philosophy.     

Maximalism and Moral Harmony

Maximalism is the view that an agent is permitted to perform a certain type of action (say, baking) if and only if she is permitted to perform some instance of this type (say, baking a pie), where φ‐ing is an instance of ψ‐ing if and only if φ‐ing entails ψ‐ing but not vice versa. Now, the aim of this paper is not to defend maximalism, but to defend a certain account of our options that when combined with maximalism results in a theory that accommodates the idea that a moral theory ought to be morally harmonious—that is, ought to be such that the agents who satisfy the theory, whoever and however numerous they may be, are guaranteed to produce the morally best world that they have the option of producing. I argue that, for something to count as an option for an agent, it must, in the relevant sense, be under her control. And I argue that the relevant sort of control is the sort that we exercise over our reasons‐responsive attitudes (e.g., our beliefs, desires, and intentions) by being both receptive and reactive to reasons. I call this sort of control rational control, and I call the view that φ‐ing is an option for a subject if and only if she has rational control over whether she φs rationalism. When we combine this view with maximalism, we get rationalist maximalism, which I argue is a promising moral theory.     

Internet-Based Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Tinnitus Patients Delivered in a Regular Clinical Setting: Outcome and Analysis of Treatment Dropout

Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) can reduce tinnitus distress but is not available for most patients. Therapist guided, internet-based CBT (ICBT) increase availability and has been shown to be effective. However, the initial positive results need to be replicated in larger samples, and treatment dropout has not been thoroughly studied. Moreover, it has not been evaluated if a low-intensity version of ICBT without therapist contact could be an alternative for patients who do not need or are able to manage the full ICBT-program. This study evaluated two parallel interventions delivered in regular care: ICBT for tinnitus distress (n = 293) and a low-intensity version of ICBT (n = 81) for patients with lower levels of tinnitus distress. We also explored predictors of dropout from ICBT and if dropout influences outcome. Tinnitus Reaction Questionnaire (Wilson, Henry, Bowen, & Haralambous, 1991) was used as the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes were measures of depression, anxiety, sleep, and sound sensitivity. Significant reductions following ICBT were found on all measures after treatment and also at a three-month follow-up. Patients receiving low-intensity ICBT showed a significant reduction in distress, even when they had low levels of distress initially. Treatment dropout was preceded by an increase in days spent at each treatment step but not by an increased distress. Early dropout was related to worse outcome. ICBT can be used in a regular clinical setting to reduce tinnitus distress. Early dropouts may need additional management. For help-seeking patients with lower distress, a low-intensity version of ICBT can be used.     

Value Incomparability and Indeterminacy

Two competing accounts of value incomparability have been put forward in the recent literature. According to the standard account, developed most famously by Joseph Raz, ‘incomparability’ means determinate failure of the three classic value relations (better than, worse than, and equally good): two value-bearers are incomparable with respect to a value V if and only if (i) it is false that x is better than y with respect to V, (ii) it is false that x is worse than y with respect to V and (iii) it is false that x and y are equally good with respect to V. Most philosophers have followed Raz in adopting this account of incomparability. Recently, however, John Broome has advocated an alternative view, on which value incomparability is explained in terms of vagueness or indeterminacy. In this paper I aim to further Broome’s view in two ways. Firstly, I want to supply independent reasons for thinking that the phenomenon of value incomparability is indeed a matter of the indeterminacy inherent in our comparative predicates. Secondly, I attempt to defend Broome’s account by warding off several objections that worry him, due mainly to Erik Carlson and Ruth Chang.     

Basic psychological needs satisfaction,working alliance,and early termination in psychotherapy

The goal of this study was to evaluate the relationship between basic psychological needs satisfaction and working alliance in psychotherapy and to determine whether client ratings of basic needs and working alliance during psychotherapy were associated with early termination of therapy. Former psychotherapy clients (n = 87) completed a semi-structured interview regarding basic needs satisfaction in therapy, working alliance and dropout status. Participant ratings on the Basic Needs Satisfaction in Psychotherapy scale (BNSP) and the Retrospective Working Alliance Inventory – Short (RWAI-S) were significantly correlated (r = .77) in our sample. A comparison of intercorrelations between working alliance subscales and basic needs subscales indicated higher factorial distinctiveness within the basic needs measure. T-tests comparing those who terminated psychotherapy early with those who had planned endings on scores on the BNSP and RWAI-S were significant (Cohen’s d = .65 and 1.82, respectively). Results suggest that the basic needs measure might tap into a wider breadth of the therapist and client interaction than the RWAI-S.     

Hare Krishna and Sanatan Dharm in Britain: The Campaign for Bhaktivedanta Manor

Bhaktivedanta Manor, the main centre for ISKCON (the ‘Hare Krishna movement') in Britain, has been under threat of closure for over ten years. The centre—which is a place of pilgrimage for many thousands of Indian Hindus in Britain—is considered by its local authority to be used inappropriately, since it does not have the required planning permission to be a place of public worship. In their view, Bhaktivedanta Manor should be used only as a theological college. ISKCON have challenged this position, and through a series of legal and political battles have tried to prevent the local authority from taking enforcement action. The campaign against closure by ISKCON demonstrates the large support this ‘new’ religion has among the Hindu population of Britain, and indeed has played an important part in developing the relationship between Hindus and the Hare Krishna movement. But the campaign also demonstrates a key point about the role of religious freedom within British law, as the series of legal challenges by ISKCON have highlighted how the right to religious worship is subject to other factors, such as planning regulations.     

A thousand pleasures are not worth a single pain: The compensation argument for Schopenhauer's pessimism

Pessimism is, roughly, the view that life is not worth living. In chapter 46 of the second volume of The World as Will and Representation, Arthur Schopenhauer provides an oft‐neglected argument for this view. The argument is that a life is worth living only if it does not contain any uncompensated evils; but since all our lives happen to contain such evils, none of them are worth living. The now standard interpretation of this argument (endorsed by Kuno Fischer and Christopher Janaway) proceeds from the claim that the value—or rather valuelessness—of life's goods makes compensation impossible. But this interpretation is neither philosophically attractive nor faithful to the text. In this article, I develop and defend an alternative interpretation (suggested by Wilhelm Windelband and Mark Migotti) according to which it is instead the actual temporal arrangement of life's goods and evils that makes compensation impossible.     

Love of humanity in Shaftesbury’s Moralists

Shaftesbury believed that the height of virtue was impartial love for all of humanity. But Shaftesbury also harboured grave doubts about our ability to develop such an expansive love. In The Moralists, Shaftesbury addressed this problem. I show that while it may appear on the surface that The Moralists solves the difficulty, it in fact remains unresolved. Shaftesbury may not have been able to reconcile his view of the content of virtue with his view of our motivational psychology.     

Costs and benefits of dropout schedules of test–restudy practice: Implications for student learning

Almost all previous studies examining the benefits of testing for promoting student learning have used fixed schedules of practice. However, students more often report utilizing a dropout schedule of practice, in which items are dropped from practice once they are known. Two experiments investigated the costs and benefits of utilizing a dropout schedule of test–restudy practice. Participants learned Swahili–English paired associates using a dropout schedule or a fixed schedule. In the dropout schedule, items received test–restudy practice until each item was correctly recalled once. In the fixed schedule, all items received three tests–restudy practice trials regardless of whether they were correctly recalled, as in previous research. Experiment 2 also included a second learning session. In both experiments, a final cued recall test was administered several days later. Results indicated that the benefits of the dropout schedule (fewer practice trials used overall and all items correctly recalled once during practice) need to be considered in light of the costs (lower levels of final test performance). Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Longitudinal Comparison of Minority and Nonminority College Dropouts: Implications for Retention Improvement Programs

Differences were found in the dropout patterns of minority and nonminority undergraduates that have implications for further research and for retention improvement programs.     

Majoring in Selection,and Minoring in Socialization: The Role of the College Experience in Goal Change Post–High School

Though it is frequently assumed that the college experience can influence our life goals, this claim has been relatively understudied. The current study examined the role of goals in college major selection, as well as whether major selection influences later goal change. In addition, we examined whether a person's perceptions of his or her peers' goals influence goal setting. Using a sample of German students (M_age = 19 years; n = 3,023 at Wave 1), we assessed life goal levels and changes from high school into college across three assessment occasions. Participants reported their current aspirations, along with the perceived goals of their peers during the college assessments. Using latent growth curve models, findings suggest that life goals upon entering college significantly predict the majors students select. However, this major selection had limited influence on later changes in life goals. Stronger effects were found with respect to perceptions of peers' goals, with students tending to change their goals to better align with their peers. The current study provides evidence that life goals are relatively stable and yet can change during the emerging adult years, in ways that demonstrate the potential influence of the college experience.     

Feeling Closer to the Future Self and Doing Better: Temporal Psychological Mechanisms Underlying Academic Performance

This research examined the function of future self‐continuity and its potential downstream consequences for academic performance through relations with other temporal psychological factors and self‐control. We also addressed the influence of cultural factors by testing whether these relations differed by college generation status. Undergraduate students enrolled at a large public university participated in two studies (Study 1: N = 119, M_age = 20.55, 56.4% women; Study 2: N = 403, M_age = 19.83, 58.3% women) in which they completed measures of temporal psychological factors and psychological resources. In Study 2, we also obtained academic records to link responses to academic performance. Future self‐continuity predicted subsequent academic performance and was related positively to future focus, negatively to present focus, and positively to self‐control. Additionally, the relation between future focus and self‐control was stronger for continuing‐generation college students than first‐generation college students. Future self‐continuity plays a pivotal role in academic contexts. Findings suggest that it may have positive downstream consequences on academic achievement by directing attention away from the present and toward the future, which promotes self‐control. Further, the strategy of focusing on the future may be effective in promoting self‐control only for certain cultural groups.     

Nearest in amity: Christians in the Qur'an and contemporary exegetical tradition

This essay seeks to argue the following points: first, tafsir is an important means of understanding not only the Qur'an but also the social situation of the Muslim community in our own time. Second, the Qur'an presents a clearly pluralistic view of religion and culture which allows for religious diversity within the framework of faith in God and the last day and the performance of righteous deeds. Third, the Qur'anic verses discussed in this article illustrate this view; yet Qur'an commentators considered in this essay generally reject this Qur'anic worldview in favour of a much more rigid approach to other religions.