Postmodernism and the parody of argument

Argument, in any full sense of the word, needs resources and assumptions that postmodernism does not provide. Postmodernism is not a phenomenon that emerged after modernism, as it were, to replace it; postmodernism is just an ultimate expression of the nihilistic tendencies of modernism, tendencies which were present from its beginning and have continued to the present. A radical critique of modernism undercuts postmodernism as well and clears the way for a revival of realist foundations for argument and rhetoric.     

通过样例和问题求解学习物理──加强对条件的认知

这项研究支持了我们先前的研究结果,即知识可以表征为一组产生式规则,产生式规则的学习可以通过考察样例和通过问题求解的方式进行。这项研究特别探讨了加强对于产生式的条件认知加工活动的效果。结果表明了我们这一构思的有效性。此外,还讨论了这一学习模式的学习过程。     

Autobiographical Memory Retrieval and Problem-Solving Deficits of Iranian Depressed Patients Attempting Suicide

The underlying hypothesis was that suicide attempters tend to retrieve overgeneral autobiographical memories, with a considerable latency. Two cognitive measures (Autobiographical Memory Test and Means-Ends Problem-Solving Task, Persian versions) were used to assess 20 suicide patients who met DSM-IV criteria for depression, in comparison with a matched control group. The results showed that the suicide attempters produced more overgeneral memories and responded more slowly to positive than negative cue words, compared to the control participants. In the problem-solving task, the depressed patients evidenced less effective strategies, fewer and more irrelevant means, and took longer to respond to the task than the matched healthy participants. Moreover, there were significant correlations between autobiographical memory and problem-solving variables.     

初中学生问题解决能力发展的跨文化研究

本研究采用多因素实验设计。实验中的问题是初三教学涉及的电阻定律,要求学生自己动牧比较抽象概括来解决问题。通过方差分析考察诸多因素对问题解决水平的影响。结果表明：初中学生解决问题能力的水平有多个层次,目前约有６５％的初中生面对较复杂问题无法进行较好的抽象概括,但有针对怀的启发对问题解决有明显遥促进作用;学生的年龄、智力、学绩、教学方式和社会文化环境影响着问题解决的水平。     

Six Years in the Cognitive and Metacognitive Life of 71 Families

Seventy-one families from a low socio-economic background, each with a son at risk of developing psychosocial problems at the onset of the study, were observed three times over a six-year period while solving a combinatorial task presented on a microcomputer. The permutations task was used to gather information with regard to cognitive functioning and cognitive self-regulation of the families, which were observed as a developmental unit. Cognitive functioning was assessed according to three variables: cognitive strategies, performance, and completion of the task. Six self-regulatory activities were assessed: task definition, planning, supervision, evaluation, parental support, and sharing of responsibilities. Although inefficient strategies were mainly used across the six years, the cognitive level of functioning improved over the years. Cognitive self-regulatory activities most often used across time were supervision and parental support. Differences were observed in the three time periods for supervision, task definition, parental support, and individual involvement. Results indicated a link between cognitive strategies used by the families to solve the task and their self-regulatory activities. Results are interpreted within both the Piagetian and Vygotskian perspectives. Families' cognitive self-regulatory activities observed in this study are an example of parental disengagement and children's growing involvement in a joint activity.     

An analysis of self-management

We discuss topics related to a theoretical analysis of self-management, including theories of self-management, self-reinforcement and self-management, antecedent stimuli for self-management, teaching of self-management behaviors, and applications of self-management. Our analysis indicates that self-management's roots in behavioral explanations of phenomena are solid, but that there are important issues yet to be examined in developing a thorough understanding of self-management. We argue that self-management behaviors almost certainly must be examined in relation to the contexts in which they occur and the consequences that they produce.     

Juggling Multiple Roles and the Act of Resistance

This article addresses some ways mothers cope with the multiple stresses associated with their dual roles as workers and primary family caregivers. During the often stressful family life-cycle when adolescent children are individuating, a mother's active resistance can call attention to her need for support and validation of her efforts. While both parents are in the process of negotiating the intricate balance between letting go and forming new collaborative relationships with their soon to be adult children, heavy responsibilities associated with the maternal role can be especially challenging. In addition to gender-sensitive family interventions, mutual support groups for women who parent can help explore ways to effectively respond to cross-generational conflicts and problem solving.     

Social problem-solving skills in boys with conduct and oppositional defiant disorders

The current study compared the social problem-solving skills of a clinic-based sample of 30 boys diagnosed with conduct disorder (CD) and 25 boys diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Past research has indicated that contextual factors influence children's social problem-solving; thus, three hypothetical conflict situations (i.e., child-child, teacher-child, and parent-child) and situations which differed by degree of negative intent of the provocateur (i.e., hostile vs. Ambiguous intent) were examined. Problem-solving strategies were aggregated into three broad dimensions: 1) aggressive/antisocial solutions; 2) nonverbal-nonaggressive solutions; and 3) verbal-nonaggressive solutions. Compared to ODD boys, CD boys proposed more aggressive/antisocial solutions in parent-child conflicts when parental intent was ambiguous and in teacher-child conflicts regardless of intent. Compared to ODD boys, CD boys proposed fewer verbal-nonaggressive solutions in child-child conflicts. The implications of these findings for treatment intervention with CD and ODD boys were discussed. Aggr. Behav. 23:457–469, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Integrating Social Science and Design Inquiry Through Interdisciplinary Design Charrettes: An Approach to Participatory Community Problem Solving

Interdisciplinary collaborations that aim to facilitate meaningful community outcomes require both the right mix of disciplinary knowledge and effective community participation, which together can deepen collective knowledge and the capacity to take action. This article explores three interdisciplinary design charrettes, intensive participatory workshops that addressed specific community problems and provided a context for integrating design and social science inquiry with local community knowledge. Evaluation data from the charrettes shed light on how students from the design and social science disciplines experienced the charrettes, and on their interactions with community members. Key advantages to this interdisciplinary, community-based collaboration included expanded knowledge derived from the use of multiple modes of inquiry, particularly the resulting visualization tools that helped community members understand local issues and envision novel solutions. Key drawbacks included difficulties in balancing the two disciplines, the tendency for social scientists to feel out of place on designers' turf, and the increased disciplinary and interpersonal conflicts arising from a more diverse pool of participants.