Adolescent Self-Destructive Behavior and Crisis Intervention in Japan

ABSTRACT: After the author cites his three unsuccessful attempts to commit suicide during World War II, he then reflects on his experiences in the past almost forty years (of his “bonus life”) as a suicide-prevention counselor to Japanese youth, particularly at Kyoto University. His reflections are arranged under the following six headings: The gradual increase of self-destructive acts among adolescents in contemporary Japan; the background for this increase (including the affluent society, the change in the nuclear family, and the keen competition for higher education); the types and motives for adolescent suicide; the distinctive features of adolescent suicides in Japan; the role of crisis intervention; and the role of “the human encounter.” He concludes that the “increasing adolescent suicides is a 'silent indictment’ of current society in Japan.”     

Detection of Cognitive Structure with Protocol Data: Predicting Performance on Physics Transfer Problems

This article presents a cognitive map proposed to be associated with understanding of the “system concept,” one component of the physics principle of Newton's second low. A definition of the concept is followed by the results of a problem-solving experiment designed to investigate whether or not good problem solvers possess cognitive structures similar to the one proposed. Think-aloud protocols were collected as subjects solved a series of physics problems involving Newton's second law. Coding schemes were used to analyze these protocols and to develop a quantitative index intended to reflect the extent to which subjects possessed certain components of the proposed structure. This index proved a highly significant predictor of performance on Newton's second law transfer problems contained in a written exam. In contrast, performance on a set of familiar problems in the same written exam was not a good predictor of performance on transfer problems. These results indicate that cognitive structures that connect the equation ΣF = ma and the concept of choosing appropriate systems are at least part of what constitutes understanding of the principle of Newton's second law. Implications for physics education and problem-solving research are presented.     

A psychometric profile of British police officers authorized to carry firearms: a pilot study1

In the United Kingdom, police officers do not, as a matter of routine, carry firearms. There are occasions, nevertheless, when armed police are deployed, and for obvious reasons any procedure that might improve the suitability of officers chosen to carry firearms is worth investigating.     

Synchronicity in a New Light

Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns, so each small piece of her fabric reveals the organization of the entire tapestry. –Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Feynmann