Networking a computer-aided guidance system within higher education institutions: practice and potential

A number of higher education institutions have networked PROSPECT (HE) to make it available throughout the institution. The impact of such networking was evaluated, based on visits to six of these institutions and on logged statistical data. The rationale for networking, and implementation strategies adopted, are discussed. The quantitative data provided less evidence of the reduced quality of usage than had been anticipated. Qualitative data suggested that networking provided easier access in terms of both location and time: this removed the need to ration usage of the system, thus making it easier to consider opportunities for structured usage, and to justify access to non-core groups. There was no evidence of any reduction in the use of the careers services. Examples are presented of PROSPECT (HE) being linked with a variety of other careers activities. Overall, the evidence suggests that the benefits of networking outweigh the risks.     

Against the perceptual model of utterance comprehension

Philosophical Studies - What accounts for the capacity of ordinary speakers to comprehend utterances of their language? The phenomenology of hearing speech in one’s own language makes it...     

Belief and credence: why the attitude-type matters

Philosophical Studies - In this paper, I argue that the relationship between belief and credence is a central question in epistemology. This is because the belief-credence relationship has...     

Talking about science interests: the importance of social recognition when students talk about their interests in STEM

Although interest development is often conceptualized as a process that occurs within an individual, interest can be developed through various social mechanisms. Messages that suggest that one is or is not welcome within a context may serve to bolster or attenuate interest in those contexts. In a sample of first semester freshmen undergraduate science students, we tested whether or not talking with close others about one’s interests, and receiving social recognition during those conversations, was related to having a greater science career interest over time. Our findings suggest that the way in which students perceive others’ reactions to their scientific interests (social recognition) during these conversations may have the greatest impact on students that face greater external barriers to persisting. We found that positive social recognition appraisals that convey that a listener understands and encourages one’s interest in science predicted a greater science career interest over time for women, but not men. The impact of positive social recognition appraisals on interest in a science career was greatest among women with relatively low or average science identities, but not for women with a relatively high science identity. The implications for the development of students’ interest and for broadening participation in science are discussed.

     

Implicit sequence learning in young people with Tourette syndrome with and without co-occurring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Impaired habit-learning has been proposed to underlie the tic symptoms of Tourette syndrome (TS). However, accounts differ in terms of how habit-learning is altered in TS, with some authors proposing habit formation is impaired due to a deficient ‘chunking’ mechanism, and others proposing habit-learning is overactive and tics reflect hyperlearned behaviours. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently co-occurs with TS and is known to affect cognitive function in young people with co-occurring TS and ADHD (TS + ADHD). It is unclear, however, how co-occurring ADHD symptoms affect habit-learning in TS. In this study, we investigated whether young people with TS would show deficient or hyperactive habit-learning, and assessed the effects of co-occurring ADHD symptoms on habit-learning in TS. Participants aged 9–17 years with TS (n = 18), TS + ADHD (n = 17), ADHD (n = 13), and typical development (n = 20) completed a motor sequence learning task to assess habit-learning. We used a 2 (TS-yes, TS-no) × 2 (ADHD-yes, ADHD-no) factorial analysis to test the effects of TS, ADHD, and their interaction on accuracy and reaction time indices of sequence learning. TS was associated with intact sequence learning, but a tendency for difficulty transitioning from sequenced to non-sequenced performance was suggestive of hyper-learning. ADHD was associated with significantly poorer accuracy during acquisition of the sequence, indicative of impaired habit-learning. There were no interactions between the TS and ADHD factors, indicating young people with TS + ADHD showed both TS- and ADHD-related atypicalities in habit-learning.     

Free to Be Happy: Economic Freedom and Happiness in US States

While the measurement of subjective well-being and its usefulness as a policy objective is a matter of contention, a burgeoning field of happiness economics is emerging. This paper examines the relationship between the institutions of economic freedom and happiness as reported by respondents to the Generalized Social Survey (GSS) in the United States. GSS responses are matched via geocode to state of residence. This allows individual responses in the GSS to be matched to institutional characteristics of the state of residence. A novel contribution of this study is that analysis of the effect of economic freedom on reported happiness is conducted both at the individual level and using state averages. It is found that the level of economic freedom in US states has a positive effect on both individual reported happiness and state average happiness. Dynamic panel analysis is also conducted both as a robustness check and in an effort to control for endogeneity. This confirms the relationship as positive and is suggestive of a causal positive impact of economic freedom on average state happiness.     

The impact of L1 structural frequency and cognate status on the timing of L2 production

The present study investigates the impact of first language (L1) structural frequency and L1 lexical accessibility, manipulated via cognate status, on second language (L2) speech production. L1 German–L2 English speakers and L1 English speakers completed a production task containing pre- and post-modified possessive noun phrase (NP) constructions (e.g. The actress’s sofa vs. The sofa of the actress) in which the head nouns were English-German cognates (e.g. sofa) or noncognates. While English prefers pre-modified NPs, German has a strong frequency bias for post-modified NPs. L2 English speakers exhibited higher production accuracy than L1 English speakers on post-modified NP sentences. However, facilitative L1 effects in production latencies were restricted to post-modified NP sentences containing cognates and only developed cumulatively after repeated exposure to post-modified NP sentences. We discuss how cognate status and L1 structural frequency differentially influence the accuracy and timing of choosing between different structural alternatives during L2 production.     

Too close for comfort: the challenges of engaging with sexuality in work with adolescents

This paper explores some of the ways in which sexuality can intrude into the psychotherapeutic relationship and present both opportunities and risks to our work with adolescents. It highlights some of the complexities of this area of the clinical encounter, exploring the particular difficulties encountered by both patient and therapist when sexuality emerges in the transference and countertransference. While we are well aware of the centrality of sexual development during adolescence, far less has been written about the way in which sexuality and the erotic transference emerges and impacts on both patient and therapist. Given the profoundly unsettling nature of this area of work and its capacity to disrupt our thinking and psychic equilibrium, it is easy to underestimate how much we are drawn to avoid, negate and defend ourselves against registering such experiences. Through the discussion of clinical material with two adolescent patients, this paper explores some of these dynamics, addressing some of the technical dilemmas that frequently challenge us in this area of work. These include questions about whether and when it is therapeutically important and effective to take up and interpret the emergence of sexuality more directly in the transference and some of the risks to our patients when we ‘play safe’ and fail to do so. Most importantly, this paper aims to facilitate further thinking and discussion about an important but uncomfortable and easily neglected area of our work.     

Social Norms and Egalitarian Values Mitigate Authoritarian Intolerance Toward Sexual Minorities

In the United States, acceptance of sexual minorities (e.g., gay men and lesbians) has increased substantially since the early 1990s. This study examined whether authoritarians' attitudes have been influenced by the societal shift toward greater acceptance of sexual minorities. Using data from the American National Election Studies (ANES) collected between 1992 and 2012, we tested a model in which authoritarianism, endorsement of egalitarian values, and social norms shifting in the direction of tolerance predict individual attitudes toward sexual minorities and LGBT rights issues. Results indicated that (1) there was a subset of authoritarians who endorsed egalitarian values, (2) authoritarians in general became more tolerant (i.e., held less negative attitudes) toward sexual minorities between 1992 and 2012, and (3) “egalitarian authoritarians” held more positive attitudes toward sexual minorities than other authoritarians. The findings contribute to contemporary theory and research on authoritarianism, which is moving from a monolithic view of authoritarianism to one in which culture and core values activate and shape manifestations of authoritarian tendencies.