Sample Sizes for Two-Group Second-Order Latent Growth Curve Models

Second-order latent growth curve models (S. C. Duncan &; Duncan, 1996 Duncan, S. C. and Duncan, T. E. 1996. A multivariate growth curve analysis of adolescent substance use.. Structural Equation Modeling, 3: 323–347. [Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; McArdle, 1988 McArdle, J. J. 1988. “Dynamic but structural equation modeling of repeated measures data.”. In Handbook of multivariate experimental psychology, , 2nd ed. Edited by: Cattell, R. B. and Nesselroade, J. 564–614. New York: Plenum.. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) can be used to study group differences in change in latent constructs. We give exact formulas for the covariance matrix of the parameter estimates and an algebraic expression for the estimation of slope differences. Formulas for calculations of the required sample size are presented, illustrated, and discussed. They are checked by Monte Carlo simulations in Mplus and also by Satorra and Saris's (1985) Satorra, A. and Saris, W. E. 1985. The power of the likelihood ratio test in covariance structure analysis.. Psychometrika, 50: 83–90. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] power approximation techniques for small and medium effect sizes (Cohen, 1988 Cohen, J. 1988. Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum..  [Google Scholar]). Results are similar across methods. Not surprisingly, sample sizes decrease with effect sizes, indicator reliabilities, number of indicators, frequency of observation, and duration of study. The relative importance of these factors is also discussed, alone and in combination. The use of the sample size formula is illustrated using a modification of empirical results from Stoel, Peetsma, and Roeleveld (2003) Stoel, R. D., Peetsma, T. T. and Roeleveld, J. 2003. Relations between the development of school investment, self-confidence, and language achievement in elementary education: A multivariate latent growth curve approach.. Learning and Individual Differences, 13: 313–333. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar].     

The Calling of the Whole People of God into Ministry: The Spirit,Church and Laity

This article discusses implications of Bonhoeffer's notion of maturity (being of age), particularly for the notion of redemption and the ethical self. This is done through a reading of the relation between maturity and redemption in Kant, Nietzsche, and Levinas, which again is compared with Bonhoeffer's late thought as we find it in his Prison letters and his Ethics. All three philosophers share with Bonhoeffer the important premise that otherworldly redemption is downplayed to the benefit of a strong demand put on the self. At the same time, their notions of maturity show important differences, with subsequent consequences for their notions of redemption; Kant's notion is based on ethical autonomy, Nietzsche's on aesthetical autonomy, whereas Levinas presupposes ethical heteronomy. The reading of Bonhoeffer shows that he shares premises with all three thinkers, but particularly with Levinas. This is shown in the analyses of religionless Christianity as a turn to the practical dimension of faith, in the messianic structure of the ethical self, and in the turn to the Old-Testamently and the arcane discipline. Bonhoeffer's high estimation of the worldly and the aesthetic, however, also illustrates his affinities to Nietzsche.     

Taking Viewpoints of Fairness and Care

John Rawls' (b. 1921, d. 2002) world-famous conception 'justice as fairness' has been criticized by feminist ethicists of care at different levels. Different viewpoints of care may, however, advance justice as Rawls understood it. They might do so in the process of justification, in the life of families, and in political life. The article clarifies how this is possible.     

Dependence and Independence

We introduce an atomic formula ${\vec{y} \bot_{\vec{x}}\vec{z}}$ intuitively saying that the variables ${\vec{y}}$ are independent from the variables ${\vec{z}}$ if the variables ${\vec{x}}$ are kept constant. We contrast this with dependence logic ${\mathcal{D}}$ based on the atomic formula = ${(\vec{x}, \vec{y})}$ , actually equivalent to ${\vec{y} \bot_{\vec{x}}\vec{y}}$ , saying that the variables ${\vec{y}}$ are totally determined by the variables ${\vec{x}}$ . We show that ${\vec{y} \bot_{\vec{x}}\vec{z}}$ gives rise to a natural logic capable of formalizing basic intuitions about independence and dependence. We show that ${\vec{y} \bot_{\vec{x}}\vec{z}}$ can be used to give partially ordered quantifiers and IF-logic an alternative interpretation without some of the shortcomings related to so called signaling that interpretations using = ${(\vec{x}, \vec{y})}$ have.     

Effects of working memory training in young and old adults

Many cognitive abilities, including working memory and reasoning ability, decline with progressing age. In this study, we investigated whether four weeks of intensive working memory training would enhance working memory and reasoning performance in an age-comparative setting. Groups of 34 young (19–36 years) and 27 older (62–77 years) adults practiced tasks representing the three functional categories in the facet model of working memory capacity: storage and processing, relational integration, and supervision. The data were compared to those of a young and an old active control group who practiced tasks with low working memory demands. A cognitive test battery measuring near and far transfer was administered before and after training. Both age groups showed increased working memory performance in the trained tasks and in one structurally similar, but nontrained, task. Young adults also improved in a task measuring word-position binding in working memory. However, we found no far transfer to reasoning in either age group. The results provide evidence that working memory performance can be improved throughout the life span. However, in contrast to a previous study in which each facet of working memory capacity was trained separately, the present study showed that training multiple functional categories simultaneously induces less transfer.     

The Activities of The Scandinavian Societies

Freud's concept of the death instinct has given rise to many different interpretations which have often been contradictory. It is in fact already possible to discern two diametrically opposite meanings of this concept in Freud's work from 1920—Beyond the Pleasure Principle—in which he first introduced the concept of the death instinct. In this paper, it is argued that both these meanings are relevant in describing psychical life, although only one of these meanings actually qualifies for the concept “death instinct”. Beyond the Pleasure Principle was written in order to try to understand some everyday, as well as clinical phenomena which could not be explained by the so-called pleasure principle. Freud postulated something beyond the pleasure principle, which initially seemed to have to do with binding energy. I will preserve this idea and attempt to develop it within the context of a phenomenological analysis of time. The temporalization of the subject involves a very basic affirmation of existence, in that the subject experiences something constant, something that can be said to possess the quality of a gestalt. I propose that that which is beyond the pleasure principle—this binding of energy—should be understood as the opposite of the idea of a primordial death instinct striving towards death. In this case, that which is beyond the pleasure principle reflects an original affirmation of existence, which could be said to correspond to Freud's first meaning of the death instinct. The second meaning—for which the name “death instinct” seems to be applicable—concerns the discharge of energy, which from a temporal point of view shows itself as a tendency to dissolution. The concept of the death instinct in its various meanings is discussed in connection with phenomenological reflections on time, which is a different approach from Freud's attempt to ground the death instinct in biology.     

On Externalization Processes in a Small Child A Case Presentation

The article argues that in understanding the psychological both mind and body might be misleading concepts. The proposal is to link the psychological to activities creating something that cannot be reduced to a more fundamental level. In this context images and words are linked to articulation and perception understood as symbolizations.