Health and Aging: A Perspective from the Far East

Singapore is an urban, highly industrialized country in South East Asia. By 2030, one-fifth of the population is projected to be composed of citizens aged above 65 years. Research on aging has largely focused on the effects of deteriorating physical ability on daily functioning capabilities (Iwarsson & Isacsson, 1997; Warr, 1995). More recently, the role of self-perceived usefulness, competence and control on well-being in the elderly have been investigated (Heberlein, Licht & Licht, 1999; Ranzjin, Keeves, Luszcz, & Feather, 1998). In other fields, activity and involvement have been identified as effective coping devices (Nair, 1989; Shalit, 1988). The present study compared the conceptual understanding of the esteem and well-being of the elderly on the dimensions of activity, involvement, and control, as viewed by an undergraduate sample (n = 60) and a cross-section of seniors (n = 71). Three separate factor analyses reflected interesting variations in the conceptual frameworks.     

Facilitating 'Perspectival Reciprocity' in Medication: Some Reflections on a Failed Case

Mediation services arise in contexts where the notions of community cohesion, relationship integrity and social order are valued over their opposites (disorder, dissent, conflict etc). Yet it is not at all clear whether and how the mediation of conflict works to re-establish harmony or consensus. Indeed it is not at all clear that mediation is always effective or just. It has even been suggested that some conflicts (e.g. work-place, commercial and sexual assault) are either not resolved or not resolved justly by mediation. On the other hand, advocates maintain that mediation can bring resolution and repair to ongoing relationships, promote community harmony, and empower people to be self-determining in the construction and maintenance of their resolutions. Whether mediation is adjudged positively or not, all mediation is instantiated in, indeed performed through, talk. In this paper I examine mediations from an Australian mediation program, and use Conversation Analysis to expose the practical methods by which mediators achieve consensus between disputants. I then examine a case in which mediation has failed to produce the sought-after consensus, and explore one way of understanding the failure of mediation in that case.     

高压氧对小鼠学习记忆及脑细胞形态结构的影响

实验用两种行为模型（旷场行为模型和Ｙ－迷宫分辨学习模型）观察了幼龄小鼠在不同压力的高压氧处理后,对新异环境的探究行为和自发活动情况,以及学习记忆能力的变化;并用ＸＹ－生物医学电脑图像分析仪分析了与学习记忆相关的脑区（大脑皮层、海马）神经元密度,细胞核面积,胞核／胞浆比值的变化。结果表明：（１）与对照组相比,吸０.１ＭＰａ高压氧的幼鼠学习记忆能力明显提高,相关脑区的神经元密度、细胞核面积、胞核／浆比均显著增加。（２）吸０.２５ＭＰａ高压氧的幼鼠学习记忆能力与对照组相比无明显变化,但其在新异环境中的自发行为明显减少。提示：慢性吸入０.１ＭＰａ高压氧有利于促进幼鼠脑的生长发育,增强脑功能活动。     

Interviewing a Therapist in the Presence of a Couple: A Description of the Therapeutic Process

A therapy research team interviewed a therapist in the presence of a couple. Following each of six consecutive sessions with a couple, an interviewer posed questions to the therapist and couple. While one question was standard to each interview, other questions were generated by team members who tracked the entire process via live observation. These questions were directed first at the therapist, then at the couple, and then focused on therapeutic process and outcome. Findings of this process for the therapy system included decreasing the hierarchy within the client/therapist relationship; increasing the client ownership and energy in the therapy process; discovering the presence of parallel processes between the systems; and informing the direction of future therapy sessions. Practical, clinical implications are discussed for a variety of therapy settings.     

Criteria Based Content Analysis: The Less Scientific Road to Truth

Criteria Based Content Analysis (CBCA) is a forensic tool that aims atdistinguishing true from false statements made by crime victims. As such,CBCA and similar techniques are regularly employed by psychologicalexpert-witnesses in court. However, it could be argued that the diagnosticaccuracy of CBCA is moderate, and too low for application in the forensiccontext. The current article discusses problems that arise if conclusionsabout credibility of testimonies based on CBCA are presented in court. Afundamental, yet so far hardly addressed flaw is that CBCA suffers from aninherent truth bias. That is, the underlying notion that credibility isexamined by means of searching for signs supporting truthfulness isscientifically less valid than the approach in which credibility isestablished by focusing on alternative explanations and signs of deceit.     

Robust mean and covariance structure analysis through iteratively reweighted least squares

Robust schemes in regression are adapted to mean and covariance structure analysis, providing an iteratively reweighted least squares approach to robust structural equation modeling. Each case is properly weighted according to its distance, based on first and second order moments, from the structural model. A simple weighting function is adopted because of its flexibility with changing dimensions. The weight matrix is obtained from an adaptive way of using residuals. Test statistic and standard error estimators are given, based on iteratively reweighted least squares. The method reduces to a standard distribution-free methodology if all cases are equally weighted. Examples demonstrate the value of the robust procedure.The authors acknowledge the constructive comments of three referees and the Editor that lead to an improved version of the paper. This work was supported by National Institute on Drug Abuse Grants DA01070 and DA00017 and by the University of North Texas Faculty Research Grant Program.     

All on the Same Side: Reflections on the Dialogue Between Science and Religion

The 'war' between religion and science is winding down, creating new opportunities for fruitful dialogue. The foundations of indirect religion-science dialogue, where the perspectives of the two disciplines illuminate some third subject, are not well established. A detailed comparison of the Roman Catholic bishops' dialogues and a similar program within the American Association for the Advancement of Science illustrates the variety in formalscience-religion interactions and reveals much about the promise, achievements, and limitations of different approaches. Success depends in large part on controlling the diversity of the dialogue group, choosing topics carefully, and adopting positive and cooperative attitudes.     

Theology, Science, and Postmodernism: Responding to Stanley Grenz

This article responds to Stanley J. Grenz's Templeton Lecture, “Why Do Theologians Need to Be Scientists?” published in the June 2000 issue of Zygon (Grenz 2000). In the first part I outline my reasons for finding the kind of theological reflections in which Grenz engages worthy of attention by noting my disagreement with the view that a sufficient response to theological issues can be formulated on the basis of an examination of our biological nature. I assert, in that connection, the autonomy of reason as a way of investigating and understanding the world. In the second part I respond directly to Grenz by explaining my disagreement with the postmodern critique of science upon which he relies and his adherence to Christian eschatology as an answer to the conundrums into which, he posits, we are drawn as a result of that critique. I note that I agree with Grenz, however, that the activity of valuing is necessarily a forward‐looking Godlike endeavor that is not derivable from science. In the third part I suggest that we must be open to the investigation of the possible existence of an objective realm of value and that, in any case, rejection of the postmodern critique of science in many cases pro‐vides a sound basis for the disciplined resolution of factual questions that frequently lie at the base of disagreements about values.     

中小学生广告认知水平的发展特点

通过调查分析783名不同年级的中小学生对广告重要性、广告信任度和广告意图的认知水平,本研究发现:中小学生对广告重要性的认知随着年级的增长基本呈现上升趋势,小学六年级为关键的转折期;小学生对广告的信任度在小学四年级显著提高,而到了初中则显著下降,并且男生对广告的信任度高于女生;中小学生对广告意图的认知基本随着年级的增长而提高。