Birth of the subject: the ethics of monitoring development programmes

NGO-based and rigorously monitored development programmes are bringing about important and positive socio-economic changes in the developing world. However, there are numerous instances of the employment of aggressive and grueling monitoring techniques which objectify the subject of development, the primary stakeholder, claiming development results as the successful achievement of goals of the donor or implementing organization. It is in this context that one can speak of an ethic of monitoring development programmes. The paper argues that such an ethic can be positively based on principles like empowering people through development work without hurting their sense of self-worth, the principle of trust and partnership and, negatively, never striving to objectify any person or people for the achievement of some objective, even if this objective is in itself honourable and desirable. The paper contends that if development is freeing the subject, the central player, to exercise their capability to live their life to the fullest, then development monitoring and development work in general has to enhance freedom, autonomy and openness.     

The phonological store abandoned

Baddeley and Larsen (2007) argue that a number of key findings reported by Jones, Macken, and Nicholls (2004) and Jones, Hughes, and Macken (2006) pointing to shortcomings of the phonological store construct arise from the store being abandoned with long lists. In our rejoinder we point out that Baddeley and Larsen use a procedure in which retrieval from the supposed phonological storage would not—according to their own theory—have been possible, and we present theoretical, empirical, and logical problems with their “store abandonment” argument and highlight a number of difficulties associated with the interpretation of suffix and prefix effects. We conclude that our data are still problematic for the phonological store construct and suggest that a reformulation of short-term memory theory needs to embody (or indeed focus exclusively upon) perceptual and effector systems rather than bespoke storage modules.     

甲状腺激素在脑发育中的作用及临床意义

甲状腺激素在神经系统尤其是脑的发育和成熟过程中起着决定性的作用。甲状腺激素过多或过少直接关系到脑的发育和功能状况。有关甲状腺激素作用的分子机制的研究已经取得了重要的进步。研究发现发育脑中的甲状腺激素通过调控特异基因的表达来发挥作用。母体甲状腺激素主要影响妊娠前20周胎儿的神经发育。     

Early predictors of career development: A 10-year follow-up study

This paper presents empirical findings from a 10-year longitudinal study of the educational and occupational socialization of 445 participants who were about 7 years old when first tested, and about 17 years old at the fourth time of measurement. In addition to collecting psychological measurements from the participants, behavioral reports were collected from significant others, specifically parents and teachers. Findings demonstrated that the life/career evolution of the participants can be understood only when taking into account the dynamic interaction between the unique personal characteristics of individuality of each person and the psychosocial theatre within which the person’s development takes place. Using the life-span, life-space framework of Super, and the Developmental-Contextual model from Vondracek, different emerging early predictors with unique impact on the process of educational and occupational socialization were identified, especially with respect to the probability of dropping out of school. Results in terms of gender, parental influences, psychological characteristics, and social context are discussed with regard to their potential implications for psychological interventions in schools, families, and occupational settings, as well as with regard to personal counseling in what concerns the management of life circumstances and behavioral ecosystems.     

Chapter 6 Developmental Perspectives in Brief Treatment of Gay Youth

Abstract

This report explores representative dilemmas of gay youth in the transition from late adolescence to young adulthood and shows how brief treatment may facilitate efforts to work toward greater authenticity in sense of self and identity, revise maladaptive relational patterns, and strengthen coping capacities. It presents the case of an 18-year-old male who was seen in supportive psychodynamic treatment for 13 sessions in a university counseling service. Developmental and relational deficits, rooted in a stigmatized identity, perpetuated problems in functioning. The relational functions and supportive elements of the therapeutic process are emphasized in discussion of curative factors. Establishment of the selfobject bond with the therapist strengthened self, facilitated coping, and improved social functioning. The author emphasizes the importance of considering the impact of internalized homophobia and self-alienation in assessment of functioning and establishment of treatment goals.     

Basic research needed for stimulating the development of behavioral technologies

The costs of disconnection between the basic and applied sectors of behavior analysis are reviewed, and some solutions to these problems are proposed. Central to these solutions are collaborations between basic and applied behavioral scientists in programmatic research that addresses the behavioral basis and solution of human behavior problems. This kind of collaboration parallels the deliberate interactions between basic and applied researchers that have proven to be so profitable in other scientific fields, such as medicine. Basic research questions of particular relevance to the development of behavioral technologies are posed in the following areas: response allocation, resistance to change, countercontrol, formation and differentiation/discrimination of stimulus and response classes, analysis of low-rate behavior, and rule-governed behavior. Three interrelated strategies to build connections between the basic and applied analysis of behavior are identified: (a) the development of nonhuman animal models of human behavior problems using operations that parallel plausible human circumstances, (b) replication of the modeled relations with human subjects in the operant laboratory, and (c) tests of the generality of the model with actual human problems in natural settings.     

Assuming a Position: Women and Men as Moral Critics in Their Own War Zone

In their search for an authentic moral self, women and men may at some time in their lives assume a position of resistance. Men are most likely to assume this position in the sphere of war. It is not clear, however, where or when women would be expected to assume such a position or what the nature of that position might be, and how far it could be likened to that of the resisting man. This paper explores the idea that choosing to be a single mother can be a position by and from which women can voice their moral criticism. Such position is comparable to the (known and well-studied) position taken by men who show their moral criticism by refusing to participate in a specific battle during a morally controversial war. The paper begins with an examination of the philosophical and psychological concepts of separate and connected moral positions available to resisting men and women in the spheres of war and family. The conclusions are based on data from two samples of resisters in the spheres of war and the family: 36 soldiers (30 years old on average) who decided to take a stand as selective conscientious objectors (SCOs) during a morally controversial war and 50 (biologically) mature single women (over age 30) who chose to become pregnant and to remain unwed mothers. The conceptual and methodological questions regarding this comparison are discussed.