Understanding Change in Recycling and Littering Behavior Across a School Social Network

Understanding how communities change requires examining how individuals’ beliefs and behaviors are shaped by those around them. This paper investigates behavior change across a large social network following a recycling intervention in a New Zealand high school community. We used a mixed methods design, combining focus group data with social network analysis from two waves of a questionnaire that measured friendship networks; recycling and littering behaviors; perceived behavioral norms; and teacher, friend, and parent encouragement for these behaviors. Recycling behavior increased significantly over the course of our study. Supporting the importance of social networks in this context, both littering and recycling behavior showed clear social clustering. Further, the degree of change in an individuals’ littering and recycling behavior across time was predicted by friends’ prior behavior. Focus group data provided insight into students’ perceptions of social interactions and how these contributed to littering and recycling behavior.     

Entrepreneurship in young adults: Initial findings from the young entrepreneurs study

The scientific study of youth entrepreneurship is truly in its infancy, with research on the development of entrepreneurship constrained by theoretical foundations that rely on static, trait-like approaches that equate entrepreneurship with stable personality characteristics. In this article, we define entrepreneurship as a fluid process that relies on the bidirectional interplay between a developing individual and his or her context. We report initial findings from the Young Entrepreneurs Study that clarify how entrepreneurial intentions and actions manifest in youth. We present quantitative analyses that examined the relations between entrepreneurial strengths and entrepreneurial activities in a sample of 3461 college students, and we describe the results of semi-structured interviews from a 48-person subset of our larger sample that explored how entrepreneurial intentions and actions manifested in our sample. We describe a mixed-method triangulation that integrates these two sets of findings, then discuss implications for future research.     

Uncovering unknown unknowns: Towards a Baconian approach to management decision-making

Bayesian decision theory and inference have left a deep and indelible mark on the literature on management decision-making. There is however an important issue that the machinery of classical Bayesianism is ill equipped to deal with, that of “unknown unknowns” or, in the cases in which they are actualised, what are sometimes called “Black Swans”. This issue is closely related to the problems of constructing an appropriate state space under conditions of deficient foresight about what the future might hold, and our aim is to develop a theory and some of the practicalities of state space elaboration that addresses these problems. Building on ideas originally put forward by Bacon (1620), we show how our approach can be used to build and explore the state space, how it may reduce the extent to which organisations are blindsided by Black Swans, and how it ameliorates various well-known cognitive biases.     

THE IMAGO DEI AS THE MIND OF JESUS CHRIST

In this essay I examine David Clough's interpretation of the imago Dei and his use of “creaturely” language in his book On Animals: Volume 1, Systematic Theology. Contrary to Clough, I argue that the imago Dei should be interpreted as being uniquely human. Using a neuroscientific approach, I elaborate on my claim that while Jesus is the image of God perfected, the imago Dei is best understood as having the mind of Christ. In regards to language, I make the case that using terms such as “creature” when referring to nonhuman animals is problematic in that it can serve to alienate human beings from their capacity to image God. In addition I argue that “creaturely” language raises concerns for the African American community given Western Christianity's history as it relates to their valuation of black bodies and human enslavement.     

The functional‐cognitive framework as a tool for accelerating progress in cognitive neuroscience: On the benefits of bridging rather than reducing levels of analyses

The subject matter of neuroscience research is complex, and synthesising the wealth of data from this research to better understand mental processes is challenging. A useful strategy, therefore, may be to distinguish explicitly between the causal effects of the environment on behaviour (i.e. functional analyses) and the mental processes that mediate these effects (i.e. cognitive analyses). In this article, we describe how the functional‐cognitive (F‐C) framework can accelerate cognitive neuroscience and also advance a functional treatment of brain activity. We first highlight that cognitive neuroscience can particularly benefit from the F‐C approach by providing an alternative to the problematic practice of reducing cognitive constructs to behavioural and/or neural proxies. Next, we outline how functional (behaviour–environment) relations can serve as a bridge between cognitive and neural processes by restoring mental constructs to their original role as heuristic tools. Finally, we give some examples of how both cognitive neuroscience and traditional functional approaches can mutually benefit from the F‐C framework.     

On the Diversity of the Cognition Disciplines and the Development of A Unifying Philosophy of Information

The cognition and information theoretic sciences have now been in existence for the better part of a century. In that time, their varied disciplines have undergone extensive maturation, honing their methods, constitutions, and evaluation techniques in the pursuit of academic rigor, while not losing sight of the practical influences that have served as their almost universal cornerstone. Meanwhile, this period has also been marked by increasing disparity and gradual distancing of the philosophical underpinnings upon which each field is founded, adding strain to interdisciplinary collaborative efforts. This article presents an overview of select information‐science‐related cognition disciplines, and shows how the nascent Philosophy of Information (PI) can be adopted as a means of unifying these philosophical foundations in an empirically sound manner, without sacrificing general applicability. In addition, it demonstrates how PI is already rooted in the philosophies or epistemological views of several of the cognition disciplines, implicitly or otherwise.     

Abduction by Philosophers: Reorienting Philosophical Methodology

A reorientation is needed in methodological debate about the role of intuitions in philosophy. Methodological debate has lost sight of the reason why it makes sense to focus on questions about intuitions when thinking about the methods or epistemology of philosophy. The problem is an approach to methodology that focuses almost exclusively on questions about some evidential role that intuitions may or may not play in philosophers’ arguments. A new approach is needed. Approaching methodological questions about the role of intuitions in philosophy with an abductive model of philosophical inquiry in mind will help ensure the debate doesn't lose sight of what motivates the debate.     

Data Analytic Advances That Bridge the Scientist-Practitioner Gap

In this commentary, I advance the view that the scientist-practitioner gap is partly due to the research designs commonly used in psychotherapy research. Specifically, I believe that randomized controlled trials, which are important for establishing treatment efficacy and as leverage when making the case for the value of psychotherapy in relation to various stakeholders, are limited for further development of clinical theories. Instead, I find recent advances in cross-lagged panel modeling to be both clinically intuitive and stronger for causal inference than most other nonexperimental designs. In addition to discussing causal inference and clinical interpretation of cross-lagged panel models, I discuss the potential of improving mediation analysis, personalization of research, and studying issues of clinical timing. Finally, I briefly discuss some limitations of cross-lagged panel models. It is my belief that the use of these data analytic advances can make empirical research better live up to the innovations in Beck’s work.     

A conceptual model for mental health and performance of North American athletes: A mixed methods study

ObjectiveThe demands of sport create psychological and physical challenges for athletes, making it essential to understand what factors contribute to mental health and performance optimization in sport. The purpose of this mixed-methods investigation was to develop a conceptual model for mental health and performance of North American athletes.MethodForty-three experienced athletes, coaches, and sport professionals identified, sorted, and rated 113 behaviors, thoughts, and feelings that contribute to optimal mental health and performance for athletes. Using Multidimensional Scaling, the research team created a two-dimensional point map of participant responses. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis was then used to reveal underlying clusters in the data.FindingsSeven clusters emerged from the data: Stress Management, Mental Skills, Self-Awareness, Managing Setbacks, Intentional Practice, Team Relationships, and Social Support. Though all clusters were rated as important to mental health and/or performance, the Managing Setbacks cluster displayed high importance ratings for both mental health and performance.ConclusionOur preliminary findings suggest a comprehensive approach to athlete thoughts, feelings, and behaviors contributes to optimal mental health and performance for North American athletes.