Interpolation in computing science: the semantics of modularization

The Interpolation Theorem, first formulated and proved by W. Craig fifty years ago for predicate logic, has been extended to many other logical frameworks and is being applied in several areas of computer science. We give a short overview, and focus on the theory of software systems and modules. An algebra of theories TA is presented, with a nonstandard interpretation of the existential quantifier . In TA, the interpolation property of the underlying logic corresponds with the quantifier combination property . It is shown how the Modularization Theorem, the Factorization Lemma and the Normal Form Theorem for module expressions can be proved in TA. Dedicated to the 50th anniversary of William Craig’s Interpolation Theorem.     

Genetic Counseling: Implications for Community Counselors

A special issue of the Journal of Health Psychology (Vol. 7, No. 2, 2002) was reviewed. The articles covered a variety of qualitative studies conducted using an interpretive phenomenological analysis method to examine the interviews with people who had received genetic testing and counseling. Implications for the broader counseling field were also presented.     

A Qualitative Investigation of Supervisees' Experiences of Triadic Supervision

Although triadic supervision has existed for some time, few studies have focused on this form of supervision or its effectiveness. In this qualitative study, the experiences of 6 master's‐level students from a counselor education program who participated as supervisees in triadic supervision were explored using in‐depth, open‐ended interviews. The data analysis resulted in 5 major categories, which are discussed. Implications of the findings for clinical supervision and further research are also addressed.     

Spatial problem solving: The integration of independently learned cognitive maps

The process of mentally integrating separate regions of a layout into a unified representation is a critical component in generating inferred spatial information. Blindfolded subjects learned two different paths by tactual exploration. The subjects were then given information that permitted them to integrate the two cognitive maps of the paths into one map. In Experiment I, the speed and accuracy of originally learned and inferred movements within a path were equivalent, whereas inferred movements between the two paths were significantly slower and less accurate. In Experiment 2, the subjects could request additional training on the paths before they were given the integration information, and they also rated how well they knew the path on which they were tested. When the subjects judged that they remembered all or most of the path information, movements between two paths and within one path were performed with the same accuracy. The equivalent accuracy of all the movements suggests that cognitive integration can generate an accurate representation of an integrated layout when the path information is recalled.     

Dissimilation,differential assimilation and social identity

Studied the behaviour of subjects in a ‘normalization’ experiment: when a consistent confederate adopts the subject's norms (adoption situation); when the consistent response of the confederate deviates from the subject's norm (distance situation). We had three conditions for each of these two modes of response: we manipulated the C's image (C was always similar to the subject), and the image of a reference population: C and S were both either very similar (C and S in the majority) or very dissimilar (C and S in the minority) to the population. Or there was no image manipulation. Sixty male subjects participated in this experiment: 10 subjects in each of the six experimental conditions. In two adoption conditions (no image, C and S in the majority) the subjects changed their responses when the confederate adopted their norm. Our hypothesis on the resistance to influence in one of the distance condition (C and S in the minority) was not verified. Thus we have shown that a phenomenon of differential dissimilation exists, but our previous results on differential assimilation are not replicated. These results are coherent with the social differentiation and originality theory which stresses the quest for social identity and distinctiveness by actors who do not ‘react’ but who, in certains situations, elaborate strategies.     

Love,care, control and punishment*

Love, care, control and punishment—each has its particular, though not exclusive, institution. Institutions are projections of our needs or the needs of the past. The family is the institution of love. Education, health and social services are the institutions of care. The police and the army are the institutions of control. The courts and the prisons the institutions of punishment.     

Social differentiation and social originality

In this article we have presented a theoretical outline and a body of empirical work relating to the processes of social differentiation and social originality. If, in a competition, someone else seems to possess a decisive advantage or if mere comparison with this other person constitutes a threat to social identity, there are signs, in given conditions, of a tendency to differentiate oneself from the other, to be different or to do something else, to invent new criteria of being or doing with others or to combine accepted criteria in an original way. In other words, one tends to give proof of originality or, to use a Darwinian metaphor, to occupy ‘vacant places’. Doubtless the strategies described here only apply to certain social systems in which the visibility of the agent is an important social value and in which comparison may pose a threat to that identity. The restoring of identity by way of the search for otherness merits the attention of social psychology. But originality is not necessarily accepted or not necessarily immediately. Innovation may take time, may necessitate the creation of schismatic groups and the waging of battles for recognition, etc. We give a brief account of observations made with regard to groups of children in summer camps, laboratory experiments and the results of surveys in the scientific and artistic communities which fit into our theoretical framework. It will not be difficult for the reader to see that this article is a first step in a direction which, in our eyes, holds out a great deal of promise.