Technoscience and the 'other' continental philosophy

This essay argues that with respect to trends in Euro-American philosophy there has been a growing disparity between practices on the Continent and North America with respect to technoscience studies. Whereas in, particularly northern European circles, a new canon of topics and authors has risen to prominence with respect to science and technology studies, this same interest is virtually lacking in the institutional programs of North American continental circles. Reasons for the lack of interest in science and technology in North American continentalism are explored. The disparities between Europe and North America include temporal dimensions in which science and technology is read anachronistically in continental circles in North America; canonical dimensions in which different authors are read; and contextual dimensions regarding where technoscience studies occur. There are, however, problem sets such as 'realism and relativism,' 'relations of humans and non-humans,' and roles of 'textuality' which could be seen as overlapping interest areas. The essay attempts to locate and introduce the issues and authors of this 'other' continentally interesting philosophy and recommends that Euro-American philosophers in North America begin to catch up with the newer trends.     

Counseling and the Law: A Cross‐Cultural Perspective

Counselors must demonstrate ethical standards of the profession and abide by the law. This task is made challenging by the fact that the mental health and legal systems represent 2 different, sometimes conflicting cultures. Using a cross‐cultural perspective, overlapping or common elements of each culture are noted, differing elements of each culture are identified, and recommendations are provided for the 2 cultures to work together as effectively as possible.     

Assessing teaching opportunities in a residential treatment facility

Seventeen living units in a residential treatment facility for developmentally disabled persons were assessed to determine the availability of teaching opportunities during the course of a normal day's routine. Teaching opportunities exist when the environment is arranged so that residents can participate in the ongoing activities. The teaching opportunities are identified within components that are recognizable activities that occur routinely and have a functional purpose. An assessment form was constructed as a means for documenting teachng opportunities. Assessments were conducted continuously from early morning through evening activities. The results of the assessments suggested that two approaches to resident care were in operation at the facility: one was characterized by a traditional care/custodial model, the other was characterized by a teaching model. On units where the number of teaching opportunities available was high, there was a smaller percentage of unstructured time, i.e., blocks of time when opportunities to engage in structured activities were not available to the residents.     

Arranging a residential environment for the developmentally disabled to generate and maintain verbal behavior

A specialized residential unit was assembled at a state residential facility for mentally retarded residents in order to provide services for individuals who lacked functional speech but who were capable of learning manual signs. Program development focused on four areas. First, a routine was designed to engage residents in functional training activities throughout the day. Second, opportunities to teach signed verbal behavior within all components of the routine were identified. Third, structured training sessions were developed to augment training within normal daily living activities. Fourth, multiple staff training strategies were initiated. Initial outcome data indicate that signing skills of both staff and residents improved.     

Extramarital sex: An examination of the literature

Extramarital sex in the marital system often provides difficult dilemmas for marital therapists in regard to treatment approaches. The authors examine various motivational and perceptual aspects among spouses for engaging in sexual activity outside the marriage. Implications for both research and treatment are discussed.     

Rehearsal of faces and details in action events

The relationship between mental rehearsal and facial identification accuracy was explored in two experiments involving either a staged classroom event or a video scenario. The results suggest that when subjects rehearsed immediately following an event, compared to subjects in non-rehearsal conditions, identification accuracy was increased when the target face was unchanged in appearance but was reduced when the face was changed slightly in appearance from viewing to test. However, when rehearsal of the event was delayed 10 minutes, identification accuracy was improved even when the face had changed in appearance. Immediate rehearsal, in contrast, led to a reduction in identification performance. In short, in some circumstances the gains in specific memory brought about by mental rehearsal serve to reduce than improve identification accuracy. The relevance of these findings to memory theory and everyday eyewitness testimony is discussed.     

Performance asymmetries and coupling dynamics in the acquisition of multifrequency bimanual coordination

Sixteen right-handed participants without formal musical training performed a rhythmic multifrequency coordination task for several hours over a one-week period. Two groups were studied with respect to the assignment of hand to frequency: 1L:2R, in which the preferred right hand performed the higher frequency, and 2L:1R in which the non-preferred left hand performed the higher frequency. Performance asymmetries in terms of relative phase stability were initially expected and confirmed. The 1L:2R pattern was more stable than 2L:1R. It has been suggested that performance asymmetries result from asymmetrical coupling between the limbs as influenced by handedness. This study examined whether the acquisition of 2L:1R, the less stable of the two patterns, required the formation of asymmetrical coupling such that the faster hand would exert a greater forcing on the slower hand than vice versa, a supposition put forth in many studies of bimanual polyrhythmic tapping. The present data provide quantitative evidence that, in terms of stability (as quantified by relative phase uniformity, transition pathways, and lead-lag relations), handedness asymmetries, as well as acquired asymmetries, can be captured by low-dimensional dynamics consisting of symmetric and asymmetric coupling terms. Received: 18 November 1996 / Accepted: 6 May 1997