Ethical and political implications of reflective practice among preservice teachers

This study investigates the ethical and political implications of reflective practice among preservice teachers. The author reviewed previous research which suggests the need for a more critical analysis of teacher education programs to implement more intensive reflective methodologies that foster authentic, caring, dispositional development as a moral obligation toward socially just practice rather than mere audited compliance with standards-based technical training. This position paper then analyzes preservice teacher education as an interdependent process of methodological development, perceptive development, and cognitive/affective development. Finally, the author makes recommendations for program modification to better prepare preservice teachers to conceptualize their transformative role in society.     

Reflecting on self-care practices during clinical psychology training and beyond

In this paper, I will discuss the concept of self-care and its importance for clinical psychologists, both during training and post-qualification. I will review the pertinent literature in this area covering the concept of self-care and its meaning, the personal and professional impact of a lack of self-care for clinical psychologists, and discuss some of the barriers to implementing self-care practices. Throughout the discussion of barriers to self-care, I will intersperse three reflective pieces on my own experiences throughout clinical psychology training, which will allow for a more in-depth exploration of the issues. My conclusion will highlight the personal, professional and systemic barriers to self-care in clinical psychologists, and in other helping professionals, and suggest possible ways of tackling these barriers and promoting greater utilisation of self-care during clinical training and beyond and across different professional groups.     

Mentalization in children and mothers in the context of trauma: An initial study of the validity of the Child Reflective Functioning Scale

This study examined the validity of the Child Reflective Functioning Scale (CRFS: Ensink, Target, & Oandason, 2013, Child reflective functioning scale scoring manual: for application to the Child Attachment Interview. London, UK: Anna Freud Centre – University College London), a measure designed to assess reflective functioning (RF) or mentalization during middle childhood. Participants were 94 mother–child dyads divided into two subgroups; 46 dyads where children had histories of intrafamilial (n = 22 dyads) or extrafamilial (n = 24 dyads) sexual abuse, and a community control group composed of 48 mother–child dyads. RF of children and their mothers was assessed using videotaped and transcribed data gathered using the Child Attachment Interview and the Parent Development Interview (PDI: Slade, Aber, Bresi, Berger, & Kaplan, 2004, The parent development interview‐Revised. New York, NY: The City University of New York). The findings indicate that the CRFS proved reliable, with excellent intraclass correlation coefficients for general RF, as well as RF regarding self and others. Significant differences in RF were found between sexually abused children and the control group, and also between children who had experienced intrafamilial and extrafamilial sexual abuse. This provides support for the discriminant validity of the CRFS. Furthermore, maternal RF was associated with child RF. Both abuse and maternal RF made significant contributions to predicting children's RF regarding themselves, but child sexual abuse was the only variable that made a significant contribution to explaining variance in children's RF regarding others.     

Qualitative tools and experimental philosophy

Experimental philosophy brings empirical methods to philosophy. These methods are used to probe how people think about philosophically interesting things such as knowledge, morality, and freedom. This paper explores the contribution that qualitative methods have to make in this enterprise. I argue that qualitative methods have the potential to make a much greater contribution than they have so far. Along the way, I acknowledge a few types of resistance that proponents of qualitative methods in experimental philosophy might encounter, and provide reasons to think they are ill-founded.     

Transition between alloy–element partitioned and non-partitioned growth of austenite from a ferrite and cementite mixture in a high-carbon low-alloy steel

The growth of austenite from a mixture of ferrite and cementite in low-alloy steels can be classified into three temperature ranges above the eutectoid temperature. In the first range, the austenite growth and cementite dissolution are controlled by alloy element diffusion from the beginning. In the second, they are controlled by carbon diffusion and switch to alloy element diffusion control at a later stage. In the third, the cementite dissolution, if the ferrite matrix has transformed to austenite upon heating, is controlled by carbon diffusion until completion. The transition temperatures between these ranges are evaluated in a quaternary alloy containing Mn and Cr by Thermo-calc and DICTRA simulation, and are in essential agreement with earlier experimental results. The proposed simple approach of calculating the transition temperatures may facilitate our understanding of austenitization kinetics and the design of heat treatment, for example, homogenization and soaking, of high-carbon steels.     

The case of Peter: reflections on applied ethics in a neonatal intensive care unit

The case of Peter is reflected upon in order to highlight some of the moral theorising that could be brought to bear in the process of providing palliative care for sick neonates. The situation will be discussed using the theoretical lenses of deontological and virtue ethics. Nursing practice is considered as engaged moral reasoning where the nurse brings his/her beliefs, knowledge and experience into the situation and engages in reflexivity to provide appropriate ongoing patient care. The care should be provided in culturally sensitive manner and tailored to the needs of the newborn and their family. Nurses should initiate early consultations with colleagues, medical staff and families to address concerns about patient well-being in order to enhance the well-being of patients and families and to improve the work environment making it more conducive to care.     

Experiences of Countertransference: Reports of Clinical Psychology Students

While historically linked with psychoanalysis, countertransference is recognised as an important component of the experience of therapists, regardless of the therapeutic modality. This study considers the implications of this for the training of psychologists. Fifty‐five clinical psychology trainees from four university training programmes completed an anonymous questionnaire that collected written reports of countertransference experiences, ratings of confidence in managing these responses, and supervision in this regard. The reports were analysed using a process of thematic analysis. Several themes emerged including a desire to protect or rescue clients, feeling criticised or controlled by clients, feeling helpless, and feeling disengaged. Trainees varied in their reports of awareness of countertransference and the regularity of supervision in this regard. The majority reported a lack of confidence in managing their responses, and all reported interest in learning about countertransference. The implications for reflective practice in postgraduate psychology training are discussed.     

The Role of Subsidies in Coordination Games with Interconnected Risk

Can subsidies promote Pareto‐optimum coordination? We found that partially subsidizing the cooperative actions for two out of six players in a laboratory coordination game usually produced better coordination and higher total social welfare with both deterministic and stochastic payoffs. Not only were the subsidized players more likely to cooperate (choose the Pareto‐optimum action), but the unsubsidized players increased their expectations on how likely others would cooperate, and they cooperated more frequently themselves. After removal of the subsidy, high levels of coordination continued in most groups with stochastic payoffs but declined in deterministic ones. This carry‐over disparity between the deterministic and stochastic settings was consistent with the economic theories that agents were more likely to keep the status quo option under uncertainty than without uncertainty. Hence, players with stochastic payoffs were more likely to keep the high coordination level (status quo) brought by the subsidy in the previous subsidy session. A post‐game survey also indicated that with stochastic payoffs, players focused on risk reduction. Temporary subsidies promoted lasting coordination because even after subsidy was removed, players still assumed that others players would prefer reduced risks from cooperation. With deterministic payoffs, however, the subsidy might crowd out other rationales for coordination, with many players indicating that the subsidy was the only reason for anyone to cooperate. Hence, the coordination level dropped when the subsidy was removed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of the reflective practice questionnaire: preliminary findings

This study introduces a new reflective practice questionnaire (RPQ) that can be used to assess self-reported measures for investigating the experiences, benefits, and potential pitfalls of reflective practice and reflective supervision. This questionnaire sets itself apart from previous self-report measures of reflective practice by the ability to administer to individuals working in any service industry (e.g. psychology, nursing, education, and others). This will allow for future investigations that can compare and contrast across different contexts and professions. This will further the understanding of how reflective practice impacts those engaged with the process. The present study provides preliminary evaluation of the questionnaire with samples from the general public (Study 1), and mental health practitioners (Study 2). The questionnaire includes a number of short four-item sub-scales for evaluating reflective practice including: reflective-inaction; reflective-on-action; reflective with others self-appraisal; desire for improvement; confidence (general); confidence (communication); uncertainty; stress interacting with clients; and job satisfaction. A six-item attitude towards reflective supervision scale is also included in the research. Results suggest that reflective practice can foster confidence and further a desire for self-improvement. However, results also indicate how reflective practice might increase uncertainty and stress in some individuals. Study 2 reveals that a more positive appraisal of reflective supervision is associated with greater selfreported reflection, desire for improvement, and confidence.