‘The moral irrelevance of moral coercion’

Philosophical Studies - An agent A morally coerces another agent, B, when A manipulates non-epistemological facts in order that B’s moral commitments enjoin B to do what A wants B to do, and...     

Brief Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Suicidal Inpatients

Suicide risk is elevated in psychiatric patients following discharge from inpatient care. Despite this vulnerability, there has been limited research investigating suicide prevention protocols that take into account the unique system characteristics of this setting (e.g., short lengths of stay, crisis stabilization treatment model, multidisciplinary team coordination). Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has demonstrated efficacy for improving suicide risk in outpatients, but has not been validated with inpatients. The current study was a treatment development and pilot feasibility open trial that modified brief cognitive-behavioral therapy (BCBT) for an inpatient setting (BCBT-I). Key treatment modifications included administering up to 10 sessions (depending on patient length of stay), daily, and in a standardized order, with core crisis management skills introduced during the first three sessions. In addition, coordination with the inpatient treatment team was included in BCBT-I implementation. Six adult inpatients with a recent suicide attempt enrolled and completed an average of 4.67 BCBT-I sessions (SD = 1.36). The treatment was highly acceptable (Client Satisfaction Questionnaire total score M = 3.49, SD = 0.73). Pre- to posttreatment effect sizes demonstrated improvements in suicidal ideation (d = 0.97), depression (d = 1.33), and suicidal implicit associations (d = 1.28). All but one of the participants (83%) completed follow-up assessments 1-, 2-, and 3-months postdischarge. Over follow-up, two participants reported suicidal ideation (both without intent), and none reported suicide attempts, preparatory acts or behaviors, or nonsuicidal self-injury. This study provided preliminary evidence supporting the feasibility of CBT to treat suicidal inpatients. Future research is needed to validate BCBT-I in a larger, randomized controlled trial to determine whether BCBT-I reduces suicide risk beyond that afforded by inpatient treatment alone.     

‘Believe in me,and I will too’: a study of how teachers’ expectations instilled confidence in Grade 10 students

Social Psychology of Education - Teacher expectation research has continued to establish an association between what teachers expect of their students and what students accomplish academically....     

Perceived Collective Efficacy and Parenting Competence: The Roles of Quality of Life and Hope

Parents' perceptions of their parenting competence predict successful implementation of parenting tasks and contribute to their interest and involvement in parenting and to their children's development. Thus, identifying factors that contribute to parents' perceptions of parenting competence can help inform efforts to promote children's safety and well-being. The present study employs social disorganization theory to examine the relationship between collective efficacy and parents' sense of competence, measured along two dimensions: parental efficacy and parental satisfaction. It examines the direct association between the two constructs and whether the association is mediated by parent perceptions of their quality of life (QOL) and sense of hope. Data were collected from 198 parents residing in a neighborhood in southern Tel Aviv, Israel. The analyses indicated that high collective efficacy was directly associated with high parental efficacy, but not with high parental satisfaction. Using structural equation modeling, a mediation model was found whereby higher collective efficacy was associated with (a) higher QOL, which in turn was related to a greater sense of hope, which was linked with higher parental efficacy; and (b) higher QOL, which was directly associated with higher parental satisfaction. The findings provide further support to the idea that neighborhood characteristics play an important role in parents' ability to care for their children.     

“Love is only between living beings who are equal in power”: On what is alive (and what is dead) in Hegel's account of marriage

The paper develops a conception of marital love as a complex recognitive relation, which I articulate by juxtaposing it against other recognitive relations that figure in Hegel's theory of modern civil society (i.e., respect and esteem). Drawing on Hegel's early writings, I argue that, if love is to provide its unique sort of recognition, it must obtain between “living beings who are equal in power”—a peculiar form of equality that I name (drawing on Stanley Cavell's work) “dynamic equality.” I conclude that it is by Hegel's own lights that we should reject his notorious conception of the sexual difference. However, I also offer reasons why, from Hegel's early 19th century perspective, he could consider the following two conditions as compatible: (1) equality within marriage and (2) sexual hierarchy outside marriage, namely, in civil society.     

Constraints have different concurrent effects and aftereffects on variability

Three experiments showed that constraints imposed early in learning have different effects on variability when they are in effect and after they are removed. Task constraints, which determine how something can be done, limited the number of possible responses in a computer game. Variability constraints, which specify how differently something must be done, required that each response differ from some number of prior responses. Less restrictive constraints (Experiments 1 and 2) produced higher variability during the constraints. More restrictive constraints (Experiments 2 and 3) led to higher variability after the constraints were relaxed. The authors discuss how these differences reflect strategies acquired during the constraints (default rules) and modified in closely related ways (exception rules) afterward.     

Lateralization of narrow-band noise by blind and sighted listeners

The effects of varying interaural time delay (ITD) and interaural intensity difference (IID) were measured in normal-hearing sighted and congenitally blind subjects as a function of eleven frequencies and at sound pressure levels of 70 and 90 dB, and at a sensation level of 25 dB (sensation level refers to the pressure level of the sound above its threshold for the individual subject). Using an 'acoustic' pointing paradigm, the subject varied the IID of a 500 Hz narrow-band (100 Hz) noise (the 'pointer') to coincide with the apparent lateral position of a 'target' ITD stimulus. ITDs of 0, +/-200, and +/-400 micros were obtained through total waveform delays of narrow-band noise, including envelope and fine structure. For both groups, the results of this experiment confirm the traditional view of binaural hearing for like stimuli: non-zero ITDs produce little perceived lateral displacement away from 0 IID at frequencies above 1250 Hz. To the extent that greater magnitude of lateralization for a given ITD, presentation level, and center frequency can be equated with superior localization abilities, blind listeners appear at least comparable and even somewhat better than sighted subjects, especially when attending to signals in the periphery. The present findings suggest that blind listeners are fully able to utilize the cues for spatial hearing, and that vision is not a mandatory prerequisite for the calibration of human spatial hearing.     

Change in cognitive functioning associated with apoE genotype in a community sample of older adults

The influence of a genetic risk factor, apolipoprotein E (apoE) epsilon4 variant, was assessed in older adults aged 70 to 94 on 3 occasions over 7 years. The results of latent growth curve analyses are reported for individuals genotyped for apoE at the 2nd measurement occasion (n = 601) and for a subsample of individuals without probable or definite dementia during the 1st or 2nd occasion (n = 434). ApoE-epsilon4 status was a significant predictor of level and change in memory performance and change in speed performance in the full sample, and of initial level and change in memory performance in the nondemented subsample. These results support previous findings that apoE-epsilon4 is associated with accelerated memory deterioration in individuals without clinical dementia.     

Employment of persons with disabilities in information technology jobs: literature review for "IT works"

This article reviews relevant literature as to the labor pool of qualified individuals with disabilities and employment in information technology (IT) sector jobs. First, the article reviews the empirical literature on barriers to employment in IT for persons with disabilities. The examination then is extended to studies of barriers to employment for individuals with disabilities in other employment sectors. Findings illustrate the limited experiences that IT and non-IT companies have in employing and accommodating employees with disabilities. Implications are discussed for enhancing the employment of qualified workers with disabilities in IT through research, education, training, and mentoring programs.