Finite Agents,Sublime Feelings: Response to Hanauer

Tom Hanauer's thoughtful discussion of my article “The Pleasures of Contra‐purposiveness: Kant, the Sublime, and Being Human” (2014) puts pressure on two important issues concerning the affective phenomenology of the sublime. My aim in that article was to present an analysis of the sublime that does not suffer from the problems identified by Jane Forsey in “Is a Theory of the Sublime Possible?” (2007). I argued that Kant's notion of reflective judgment can help with this task, because it allows us to capture the experience of failure that characterizes the sublime without committing us to ontologically transcendent items. In a significant departure from Kant, however, my account does not require references to our moral vocation to explain the pleasure we take in the sublime; the pleasure comes from getting the right measure of our agency. For Hanauer, trouble for my analysis comes both from the discursive presentation of the sublime, its focus on judgment, and from the removal of references to our moral vocation.     

Quantifying Intervention Intensity: A Systematic Approach to Evaluating Student Response to Increasing Intervention Frequency

Response to intervention (RTI) has been discussed as a new model of assessment. Although the basic process by which RTI works has received frequent attention in the literature, the available research leaves several important questions unanswered (Kavale et al. in Learn Disabil Q 28(1): 2–16, 2005). One concept within RTI that has received little empirical consideration is intervention intensity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the application of increased intervention frequency on the mathematics performance of students and to evaluate this increased frequency as a systematic means of increasing and quantifying intervention strength. Results indicate that although all students were responsive to the intervention, some participants were sensitive only to more frequent application of the treatment or at more intense levels of treatment. Through this methodology a means of quantifying treatment intensity was also identified and implications for future research are discussed.     

Responding to Suicide in Schools: A Case Study in Loss Intervention and Group Survivorship

General strategies for group survivorship intervention are proposed in a case study of an elementary school student's suicide.     

Advancements in Procedural Fidelity Assessment and Intervention: Introduction to the Special Issue

Interest in procedural fidelity has grown rapidly since 1981 as evidenced by the growing numbers of research publications across disciplines on this topic. As a result, the past 30 years of research has yielded a variety of procedures to guide research and practice, which we hope translates into better educational practices and services. Despite our progress, much remains unknown. As an introduction to the special issue on advancements in procedural fidelity, this article will briefly describe the conceptual and definitional issues surrounding this topic, summarize the relevance of procedural fidelity to education and research, and highlight the articles in this issue that address proposed research priorities.     

Response to Intervention for Middle School Students With Reading Difficulties: Effects of a Primary and Secondary Intervention

This study examined the effectiveness of a yearlong, researcher-provided, Tier 2 (secondary) intervention with a group of sixth-graders. The intervention emphasized word recognition, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension, Participants scored below a proficiency level on their slate accountability test and were compared to a similar group of struggling readers receiving school-provided instruction. All students received the benefits of content area teachers who participated in researcher-provided professional development designed to integrate vocabulary and comprehension practices throughout the school day (Tier 1). Students who participated in the Tier 2 intervention showed gains on measures of decoding, fluency, and comprehension, but differences relative to students in the comparison group were small (median d = +0.16). Students who received the re searcher-provided intervention scored significantly higher than students who received comparison intervention on measures of word attack, spelling, the state accountability measure, passage comprehension, and phonemic decoding efficiency, although most often in particular subgroups.     

Assessment and Intervention for PTSD in Children Exposed to Violence

Summary

Recent research has established that exposure to domestic violence is a major risk factor for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children. However, one issue that has been relatively neglected in research conducted to date concerns developmental differences: both in the expression of PTSD symptoms across childhood and adolescence, and in the techniques appropriate for assessing and intervening with PTSD in children at different ages. The available literature is reviewed concerning the conceptualization, measurement, and treatment of PTSD in children, with special attention to the case of children of battered women. Guidelines are provided for developmentally sensitive approaches to assessment and treatment.     

Stress-Induced Binge Eating: A Behavior Analytic Approach to Assessment and Intervention

Responses to acute or chronic stress may include behaviors, such as alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and altered eating patterns. In connection with the stress-eating relation, some researchers have suggested that certain stressors (e.g., psychological or emotional) may influence the direction (i.e., increase or decrease) of a person’s eating response. In a recent study, Connors and Morse (Int J Eat Disord 13:1–11, 2006) indicated that the physical and psychological stress associated with sexual trauma could result in an increase in food intake and nonstandard eating patterns. In consequence, this study describes a multifaceted intervention for a 24-year-old woman who experienced chronic stress and received a diagnosis of Binge Eating Disorder (American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. DSM-IV. Washington, DC: APA) following a series of unwanted sexual experiences. The behavior analytic intervention emphasized self-control, self-regulation, and physical activity. The treatment package resulted in a 19% reduction in the participant’s body weight, a 96% reduction in binge eating, and long-term adherence to an exercise routine.     

The Power War: Male Response to Power Loss Under Equality

As many authors have pointed out, the relationship between the sexes is based on power, males having greater power than females. The continuing demand by women for equality is actually a demand for equal power, and if these strivings are successful, they will mean a loss of power for men. The male response to this anticipated power loss is the focus of this analysis. First, the scope of male power is described. Second, the importance of power to men is analyzed in terms of the male sex-role stereotype and the metamorphic effects of power use (Kipnis, 1976). Third, some likely responses of men to a loss of power are hypothesized. Finally, some suggestions for future research are outlined.     

Treating Childhood Anxiety in Schools: Service Delivery in a Response to Intervention Paradigm

Millions of youth who attend schools in the United States suffer from clinically significant anxiety. Left untreated, these students often experience significant disruptions in their academic, social, and family functioning. Fortunately, promising treatments exist for childhood anxiety that are amenable for delivery in school settings. However, educational law and new service delivery paradigms such as response-to-intervention (RtI) affect the delivery of anxiety interventions. In light of extant laws and practices that govern education, this article discusses the provision of supportive services to address childhood anxiety. Specifically, this article reviews how RtI, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, and Section?504 of the Rehabilitation Act guide service delivery and subsequently impact school-based anxiety treatments. Suggestions are provided to address childhood anxiety within a framework that allows for graduated and fluid service delivery.     

Borderline Personality Disorder,Divorce and Family Therapy: The Need for Family Crisis Intervention Strategies

Recent literature reviews, point out the lack of crisis intervention and crisis prevention programs that are in existence to address crises experienced by first-degree and divorced family members of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) probands. The focus of such intervention programs should be to facilitate the improved ability of the first-degree and divorced family members to manage and transcend the unstable family environment. Correlations between personal instability and frequency of psychosocial crises have been examined, as well as the ripple effect of frequent individual crises on family environments. Reviews of current therapeutic interventions, as well as a synthesis of practical family therapy interventions focusing on breaking the cycle of dysfunctional multi-generational family environments are also examined.     

Divorce in the kibbutz: Affective responses to separation

This article is part of a comprehensive research project in which the central characteristics of the process of divorce in the kibbutz were examined. It appears that the framework of the kibbutz, free as it is from socio-economic pressures and boundary factors not directly connected with the marital relationship as such, provides an excellent and perhaps unique opportunity to investigate the pure emotional effects of the marital breakup.     

Adolescent Sex Differences in Response to a Mindfulness Intervention: A Call for Research

Research on mindfulness interventions with adolescents has burgeoned over the last ten years, and findings have demonstrated increases in overall emotional wellbeing post-intervention. However, little is known about the sex differences in response to mindfulness interventions in this age group. In the present study we examine sex differences in outcomes of physiological stress markers during the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and emotional wellbeing measures before and after a mindfulness intervention (N?=?15) with 10 female and 5 male adolescents. Additionally, we examine sex differences in course engagement and post-intervention use of mindfulness skills during the TSST. Overall, we found some evidence that females were more engaged than males in the class and also reported less stress post-intervention. We conclude by strongly encouraging future research in this area to more clearly elucidate the different ways in which adolescent males and females engage and respond to mindfulness interventions.     

核与放射应急医学准备和响应中的心理干预

通过探讨核与放射事故产生的心理危害特点，提出心理干预方法，对核与放射事故造成的危害、不同对象的问题表现进行探讨。结果显示，提出心理干预原则和应对措施。因此，及时、有效的心理干预是核与放射应急医学响应的重要组成部分，能减少社会危害，降低可能发生的长期有害影响。     

Divorce Ambivalence and Reasons for Divorce in Iran

This study examined divorce attitudes and reasons for divorce in Iran, a nation experiencing a rapid increase in divorce. Using instruments translated into Farsi with a sample of 230 Iranian spouses filing for divorce, we found a preponderance of common relational reasons for divorce (such as growing apart and not getting enough attention), along with high rates of interpersonal violence reported by wives. Study participants showed considerable rates of divorce ambivalence, along with openness to reconciliation services. The findings were compared with similar studies of the United States spouses in the divorce process. Clinical implications include a careful approach to considering how discernment counseling might be adapted to the cultural situation of Iran, and particularly the special concerns of Iranian women.     

Grieving From the Womb: Meaning Construction in Response to Father Loss Before Birth

This qualitative study examined the meanings constructed by Israeli adults to their loss of a father before birth. Using the interpretative phenomenological analysis approach, three themes of meaning were derived from in-depth semistructured interviews conducted with 12 Israeli adults who lost their fathers before they were born: (a) mother’s grief—a transmission of loss and grief; (b) defect, shame, guilt, and anxiety—congenital anomaly; and (c) ambiguous loss—phantom limb pain caused by an organ they did not have to begin with. An integrative view of all three themes highlights the notion that meaning construction in response to loss is a process forged by social and cultural forces and the use participants make in metaphoric language regarding physical aspects when constructing meanings to their loss. Practical implications are outlined.     

Self-Regulation in the Classroom: A Perspective on Assessment and Intervention

Il n’y a pas de définition simple et univoque du concept d’apprentissage autorégulé. Des théoriciens de psychologie de l’éducation ont réduit l’éventail des aptitudes des élèves à s’autoréguler en se focalisant sur le versant scolaire de l’éducation, à savoir l’acquisition des connaissances et les objectifs de réussite. Toutefois, le monde complexe de l’étude en classe engendre une situation où différents buts entrent en concurrence aux yeux des élèves. Le modèle d’autorégulation à double processus de Bookaerts montre que les deux objectifs que sont l’étude et le bien‐être interagissent. Nous estimons que lorsque les élèves ont accès à des stratégies autonomes bien au point se traduisant par de bonnes habitudes de travail, ils ont une plus grande probabilité de se motiver pour les études et de sauvegarder leur bien‐être quand une source de stress bloque l’apprentissage. There is no simple and straightforward definition of the construct of self‐regulated learning. Theorists in educational psychology have narrowed the scope of students’ capability to self‐regulate through a focus on the academic side of education, namely on learning and achievement goals. However, the messy world of classroom learning creates a situation in which different goals compete for students’ attention. Boekaerts’ dual processing self‐regulation model describes how learning goals interact with well‐being goals. We propose that when students have access to well‐refined volitional strategies manifested as good work habits, they are more likely to invest effort in learning and get off the well‐being track when a stressor blocks learning. Shifting definitions of SRL have led to changing measurement procedures; researchers moved away from decontextualised measures of SRL to domain‐specific measures and then on to context‐sensitive measures. The validity and reliability of the first generation of SR assessment has been limited and several issues remain. Recently, researchers have designed assessment packages including new instruments that better capture self‐regulation as a process (including for example traces of mental events, situational manipulations, and records of student work strategies). A combination of instruments is preferable over a single instrument for assessing self‐regulation as a process and the effects of interventions to improve students’ self‐regulatory capacity. At present, many sound SRL interventions exist and some general lessons can be learned about classroom intervention research.     

Integrated Family Assessment and Intervention Model: A Collaborative Approach to Support Multi-Challenged Families

In this article we describe the Integrated Family Assessment and Intervention Model (IFAIM), a multi-systemic, collaborative, strength-based, and family-focused in-home approach developed and implemented in Portugal. IFAIM is designed to assess and to support multi-challenged poor families, commonly known as multi-problem families, at psychosocial risk, with maltreated or neglected children. It integrates clinical, educational, social, community and forensic concerns, and practices under a systemic, narrative, and collaborative umbrella. IFAIM’s theoretical foundations and background, its main characteristics, stages of implementation, and research directions are described and a case illustration is presented.