Meaning of Social Inclusion to Young People Not in Employment,Education or Training

The ‘social inclusion’ of young people, particularly those who are ‘not in education, employment or training’, is a contemporary concern in policy discourses. However, it has been argued that the term ‘social inclusion’ is defined by adults and imposed on young people, and there is little understanding of what ‘social inclusion’ means to young people themselves. Using a participatory methodology, this study investigated what ‘being included’ meant to young people. A qualitative approach with a thematic analysis was used to explore the accounts of 11 participants and yielded three main themes. ‘“Acceptance”—the building blocks of inclusion’ reflected the power of interpersonal acceptance in determining young people's sense of inclusion. ‘“Learning why I don't matter”—when power and discourse shape inclusion’ illustrated how social discourses and power dynamics influenced young people's experience of inclusion. ‘“Keeping up or falling behind”—internalising the discourse of inclusion’ reflected how young people internalised some of these societal definitions of inclusion and responded to them. Those who felt ‘accepted’ or ‘included’ in a ‘mainstream’ sense articulated a sense of agency and hope. For those who did not, it appeared that agency dissolved as did a sense of hope for the future. Although the participants negotiated their ‘inclusion’ through close, trusting relationships with others, the application of the societal discourses of inclusion such as productivity, independence and career mindedness had the potential to leave them feeling excluded, isolated and distressed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Which body for embodied cognition? Affordance and language within actual and perceived reaching space

The mental representation of one's own body does not necessarily correspond to the physical body. For instance, a dissociation between perceived and actual reach-ability has been shown, that is, individuals perceive that they can reach objects that are out of grasp. We presented participants with 3D pictures of objects located at four different distances, namely near-reaching space, actual-reaching space, perceived-reaching space and non-reaching space. Immediately after they were presented with function, manipulation, observation or pointing verbs and were required to judge if the verb was compatible with the object. Participants were faster with function and manipulation verbs than with observation and pointing verbs. Strikingly, with both function and manipulation verbs participants were faster when objects were presented in actual than the perceived reaching space. These findings suggest that our knowledge of the world is implicitly built online through behaviour, and is not necessarily reflected in explicit estimates or conscious representations.     

Using an eye-tracker to assess the effectiveness of a three-dimensional riding simulator in increasing hazard perception

A crucial factor contributing to the high rate of road accidents involving young people is inexperience, in particular the inability to promptly identify risky situations. The aim of this study is to test the effectiveness of a riding simulator in improving this skill in young inexperienced riders. We use the first fixation latency to measure the improvement in detecting the hazardous object. Results show that four training sessions can significantly affect promptness in detecting new hazardous objects as they appear, decreasing the time needed to orient the eyes to the hazard.     

Number of books at home as an indicator of socioeconomic status: Examining its extensions and their incremental validity for academic achievement

Social Psychology of Education - The present study investigates the incremental validity of the traditional books-at-home measure and selected extensions (i.e., number of children’s books and...     

Empathy and Cognitive Processing as Factors Determining the Consequences of Secondary Exposure to Trauma Among Roman Catholic Clergymen

Journal of Religion and Health - By helping individuals after traumatic experiences, the helper is also exposed to the consequences of trauma. The aim of this study was to determine the...     

Instrumentality Gives Girls the Edge: Gender-Differential Relations Between Instrumentality,Achievement Motivation,and Self-Esteem

Sex Roles - Gender differences in school are often discussed in reference to a particular type of masculinity, negative masculinity, which is often conceptualized as detrimental to success. Another...     

Beyond logic there is only nonsense

Studies in East European Thought - This paper provides an interpretation of Father Bocheński’s saying “Beyond logic there is only nonsense.” He considered the battle against...     

Promoting Mental Health in Parents of Young Children Using eHealth Interventions: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review - Parent stress and mental health problems negatively impact early child development. This study aimed to systematically review and meta-analyze the...