Caring,final ends and sports

In this essay I argue that sports at their best qualify as final ends, that is, as ends whose value is such that they ground not only the practices whose ends they are, but everything else we do as human agents. The argument I provide to support my thesis is derived from Harry Frankfurt's provocative work on the importance of the things we care about, more specifically, on his claim that it is by virtue of caring about things and practices, really caring about them – even loving them – we are able to regard and treat them as final ends. Sports, I claim, are paradigmatic examples of practices cared about and loved in these deep ways, and as such deserve to be considered, rather than dismissed because of their supposed triviality, as one of those ends around which a life most worth living can be legitimately forged.     

Job search as goal-directed behavior: Objectives and methods

This study investigated the relationship between job search objectives (finding a new job/turnover, staying aware of job alternatives, developing a professional network, and obtaining leverage against an employer) and job search methods (looking at job ads, visiting job sites, networking, contacting employment agencies, contacting employers, and submitting applications). In a sample of 205 employed individuals from Belgium and Romania, job search objectives were significantly related to job search methods even after job satisfaction was controlled. Furthermore, particular objectives predicted specific methods. While the finding a new job/turnover objective predicted all search methods, staying aware of alternatives predicted using job ads and sites; the network objective predicted networking and contacting employers; and the leverage objective predicted contacting employers. Results suggest that search objectives are important for understanding job seekers’ search behavior and support the view that job search is a self-regulatory process that begins with objectives which activate search behavior.     

英语单词记忆过程中策略的选用和评价的研究

问卷结果表明 :普通大学生和 GRE考生在有关记忆过程的知识方面没有差异 ;绝大多数 GRE考生有选用“较多的”策略趋势 ,且在规定单词记忆量和精细加工策略方面差异显著 ;两类被试在对策略的评价的总体上具有一致性 ,但两类被试在选择比较有效和值得推荐的策略时 ,在一些自我监控策略上的选取比率表现出差异 ,在选择效果不佳和基本无效策略时 ,在某些一般记忆加工策略上选取比率也存在差异 ;绝大多数被试推荐策略是基于经验 ,判定策略无效是源于直觉判断。本文结合前人的研究成果 ,探讨了知识、情景因素与策略的选择和运用的关系 ;提出了实际学习情景下策略有效性意识形成的两个因素及可能途径。