Spatio-Temporal Coincidence and the Grounding Problem

A lot of people believe that distinct objectscan occupy precisely the same place for theentire time during which they exist. Suchpeople have to provide an answer to the`grounding problem' – they have to explain howsuch things, alike in so many ways, nonethelessmanage to fall under different sortals, or havedifferent modal properties. I argue in detailthat they cannot say that there is anything invirtue of which spatio-temporally coincidentthings have those properties. However, I alsoargue that this may not be as bad as it looks,and that there is a way to make sense of theclaim that such properties are primitive.     

The Limits of Mercy

Our characters are formed, at least in part, by forces beyond our control. Should this lead us to mitigate the responsibility of those who turn out badly? Martha Nussbaum argues that we ought to be merciful to wrongdoers on these grounds. Against Nussbaum, I argue that we have important moral reasons to treat people as responsible for character and hence to eschew mercy. Treating someone as responsible is required if we are to treat them as a moral agent, to treat them as having a moral point of view that is worth hearing. However my point is not that there are no reasons for mercy, but simply that there are other reasons, to do with respect, that pull in the opposite direction. The result is not a decision procedure for all cases but a better understanding of the complex moral geography.     

Performance Management at the Wheel: Driving Employee Engagement in Organizations

Based on a study conducted in a large corporation (XINC, a pseudonym) and other research, it appears that performance management can be used to increase levels of employee engagement. We begin this article with a discussion of employee engagement, define engaged employees as those who feel involved, committed, passionate, and empowered, and demonstrate those feelings in work behavior. We then discuss an expanded view of performance management, conceptualizing it as five major activities that serve to organize relevant behaviors shown to be either direct or indirect predictors of employee engagement in the study at XINC. These major activities include setting performance and development goals, providing ongoing feedback and recognition, managing employee development, conducting mid-year and year-end appraisals, and building a climate of trust and empowerment. In turn, we briefly discuss how each of these major activities contributes to employee engagement, suggest which activities benefit from further research, and recommend possible studies. Although there is evidence for performance management as a driver of employee engagement, we conclude there is a need for additional research that clarifies for managers which of these activities have the strongest impact on employee engagement.     

Children's social identities

This paper provides a brief overview of recent developmental research on themes related to children's social identities. Initially, consideration is given to the capacity for social categorization, following which attention is given to children's developing conceptions of social identities, their identification with social groups, and the consequences of identification upon various phenomena such as ingroup favouritism and well‐being. Finally, some personal thoughts on the wider political implications of this research are offered. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relationships and Inflammation across the Lifespan: Social Developmental Pathways to Disease

There are well documented links between close relationships and physical health, such that those who have supportive close relationships have lower rates of morbidity and mortality compared to those who do not. Inflammation is one mechanism that may help to explain this link. Chronically high levels of inflammation predict disease. Across the lifespan, people who have supportive close relationships have lower levels of systemic inflammation compared to people who have cold, unsupportive, conflict-ridden relationships. Not only are current relationships associated with inflammation, but past relationships are as well. In this article, we will first review the literature linking current close relationships across the lifespan to inflammation. We will then explore recent work showing troubled past relationships also have lasting consequence on people's inflammatory levels. Finally, we will explore developmental pathways that may explain these findings.     

Automatic imitation of biomechanically possible and impossible actions: effects of priming movements versus goals

Recent behavioral, neuroimaging, and neurophysiological research suggests a common representational code mediating the observation and execution of actions; yet, the nature of this representational code is not well understood. The authors address this question by investigating (a) whether this observation-execution matching system (or mirror system) codes both the constituent movements of an action as well as its goal and (b) how such sensitivity is influenced by top-down effects of instructions. The authors tested the automatic imitation of observed finger actions while manipulating whether the movements were biomechanically possible or impossible, but holding the goal constant. When no mention was made of this difference (Experiment 1), comparable automatic imitation was elicited from possible and impossible actions, suggesting that the actions had been coded at the level of the goal. When attention was drawn to this difference (Experiment 2), however, only possible movements elicited automatic imitation. This sensitivity was specific to imitation, not affecting spatial stimulus-response compatibility (Experiment 3). These results suggest that automatic imitation is modulated by top-down influences, coding actions in terms of both movements and goals depending on the focus of attention.     

Building Communities, Bridging Gaps: Alexander George's Contributions to Research Methods

This article assesses Alexander L. George's seminal contributions in six areas of political psychology and qualitative case study methods. These include George's work on psychological inputs in political processes, the intersection of history and political science, methods of within-case analysis such as process tracing, the use of structured, focused case comparisons (SFCC), the development of typological theories, and the connections among theory, empirical research, teaching, and policy. The article concludes with an analysis of four ongoing dimensions of George's research agenda: the need to integrate theories on purposive, cognitive, social, and motivational dynamics of decision making; the importance of methodological safeguards against our own cognitive biases as researchers; ways of integrating qualitative, quantitative, formal, and experimental research methods; and ways of modeling and testing theories on causal complexity.     

The effect of comparative context upon stereotype content: children's judgments of ingroup behavior

This study addresses self-categorization theory's contention that stereotype content varies as a function of the comparative context within which a given group is considered. A sample of 5-, 7- and 10-year-old children (n = 192) made judgments about gender ingroup behavior in one of two comparative contexts: either adults of the same sex as self or children of the opposite sex. Specifically, judgments were either of the perceived stereotypicality or central tendency of 12 types of behavior. Both types of judgment were found to differ as a function of comparative context in ways predicted by self-categorization theory. However, contrary to prediction, there was no effect of age on the extent of stereotype variability.     

Genetics Education for Health Professionals: Strategies and Outcomes from a National Initiative in the United Kingdom

The National Health Service (NHS) National Genetics Education and Development Centre was established by the Department of Health in 2004 to help drive and co-ordinate genetics education for health professionals working outside specialist genetic services. This paper reviews the experiences and lessons learned to date. At the outset, it was clear that understanding the learning ethos, preferred delivery methods and attitudes towards genetics of different NHS healthcare groups was vital. We collected evidence by undertaking needs assessments with educators, practitioners and patients. We have determined the genetics knowledge, skills and attitudes which they said were needed and translated these into learning outcomes and workforce competences in a continuum of education. Beginning with core concepts introduced (and examined) pre-registration, the continuum continues with development of concepts post-registration as appropriate for role, leading to practical application and assessment of competences in the workplace. These are supported by a portfolio of resources which draw heavily on patient based scenarios to demonstrate to staff that genetics is relevant to their work, and to convince educators and policy makers that genetic education is likely to result in real clinical benefit. A long term educational policy, inclusive of learners, educationalists and their institutions must be evidence based, flexible and responsive to changes in workforce structure, provision of clinical services and conceptual and financial commitments to education. The engagement of national policy, regulatory and professional bodies is vital ().