《科学》和《自然》杂志2015年的两篇心理学文章

本文评述了《科学》和《自然》杂志2015年的两篇文章。《科学》上的文章“心理科学的重现性”对100项心理学实验进行了重复验证。结果表明,只有大约多于1/3的原始研究能够重复。该文章对出现这样结果的原因作了分析,并指出这不是心理学的挫折。我们强调科学精神在于它的不确定性,因而科学才能处在不停的探索中。《自然》上的文章“P值仅仅是冰山的一角”,批评了个别心理学杂志禁用P值的做法,指出研究者应该在实验设计、数据处理等实验的前期阶段下功夫,才能防止心理科学的坍塌。我们结合国内研究生培养的现状,就改进心理学研究生的实验训练提出了建议。     

正视公共卫生,建立有效的疾病控制体系--SARS疫情后的反思

SARS是由一种变异的冠状病毒(Corona-virus)所致的极为危险的传染病,给我们这个世界带来了一次严峻的考验,从政府到社会的方方面面都全力投身于这一次疫情抗击活动。疫情暴露了我们在卫生改革与发展过程中战略与战术上的缺陷与失误,也使我们清楚地认识到,政府必须正视公共卫生,必须建立一个拥有处理公共卫生突发事件能力的疾病控制系统,为居民健康服务;尽管这次SARS危机挑战的是国家的公共卫生系统,但是对我国卫生事业的改革与发展已经产生了巨大而深远的影响。     

SARS流行与防治的伦理启示

对传染性疾病的阻击和防治,除了依赖医学自身的发展外,它同样需要得到其他诸学科的支持与配合。从公共卫生伦理学的角度,分析和认识当前对SARS阻击和防治过程中存在的问题,并提出和倡导在全社会重视健康道德观教育。     

当今医学缺少的是什么--论医学中的人文

医学首先是一项社会事业,而后才是一门学科。医学的内在道德原则要求医学具备人文精神和人文内容。人文和科学技术是医学的两个必要的基本的组成部分。医学人文的缺少和流失使当今医学成了“半吊子”医学。为了纠正这种偏差,医学教育应该是人文精神和人文内容的教育优于技术的教育,而医学决策者和研究者在其中的责任最大。     

Grade retention and enrollment in post-secondary education

Students retained in grade have dropout rates three to seven times higher than do their promoted peers, yet little is known about the outcomes for the most persistent of the retained students who graduate high school. The purpose of this research was to examine the post-secondary (PSE) enrollment rates of retained but persistent high school graduates. Ten thousand 1992 high school graduates in the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS) data base composed the sample. A logistic regression controlling for gender, socio-economic status (SES), race–ethnicity, and achievement yielded odds ratios indicating significantly lower odds of PSE enrollment for retained graduates compared to promoted graduates. Later grade retention generally reduced the odds of PSE enrollment. Findings suggest that retaining students may be related to negative educational outcomes not realized for many years.     

Nihilism: Beyond Optimism and Pessimism

Studies in Philosophy and Education - Is the youth culture, or more precisely aparticular kind of it, to be characterized as “nihilistic”? And is this a threat or ablessing for...     

Peters' Non-Instrumental Justification of Education View Revisited: Contesting the Philosophy of Outcomes-based Education in South Africa

In this article I argue that Outcomes-basedEducation is conceptually trapped in aninstrumentally justifiable view of education. Icontend that the notion of Outcomes-basedEducation is incommensurable with anon-instrumental justification of educationview as explained by RS Peters (1998). Theprocess of specifying outcomes in educationaldiscourse lends itself to manipulation andcontrol and thereby makes the idea ofOutcomes-based Education educationallyimpoverished. In this article an argument ismade for education through rational reflectionand imagination which can complement anOutcomes-based Education system for the reasonthat it finds expression in a non-instrumentaljustifiable view of education.     

The Effect of Education on Nationalism and Ethnic Exclusionism: An International Comparison

In most studies on ethnic attitudes, a rather strong negative relationship has been found between educational attainment and positive ingroup attitudes (or negative outgroup attitudes). However, it is not well known to what extent this educational effect varies across different national contexts. This study investigated the effect of education on different dimensions of nationalism and ethnic exclusionism with the use of 1995 survey data gathered in 22 countries. Notions from socialization theory were used to test whether the educational effect varies according to the length of liberal-democratic tradition and the degree of religious heterogeneity within a country. Results indicate that educational attainment is strongly related to ethnic exclusionism as well as chauvinism, but not to patriotism. Moreover, the effect of education on ethnic exclusionism is smaller in recently established democracies. The hypothesis regarding stronger educational effects in societies with more religious heterogeneity was not supported.     

Desert,Harm Reduction,and Moral Education: The Case for a Tortfeasor Penalty

Those found liable for negligently injuring others are required to compensate them, but current practices permit most tort feasors to spread the costs of their liability burdens through the purchase of insurance. Those found guilty of criminal offences, however, are not allowed to shift the burdens of their sentences onto others. Yet the reasons for not allowing criminal offenders to shift such burdens – harm reduction, retribution, and moral education – also appear to retain some force in relation to negligent tort feasors. Arguments for and against limiting the abilities of negligent tort feasors to spread such costs, thus imposing a penalty on them, are discussed. The conclusion reached is that further consideration of such a penalty is warranted. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Abandoning the Public Good: How Universities Have Helped Privatize Higher Education

In this article we assert that much of the public good associated with teaching and research in higher education is gradually being displaced. This privatization of higher education is reflected in increased licensing of research and in the fragmentation of the traditional general education core. Taxpayer de-funding and institutional substitution are economic consequences of public good displacement.