Order of Attainment of the Mental Structures for Five of Piaget's Logical,Infralogical, and Formal Tasks

This study explored the relationship between illegitimate birth and cognitive development among 513 boys on probation. Prior research has shown that being part of a single-parent household leads to diminished verbal capacities and often puts a child in greater danger of abuse and neglect. Frequent abuse is thought to lead to the enhancement of visual and spatial skills relative to verbal skills through a process of “frozen watchfulness”. I hypothesized that illegitimate boys from one-parent homes would have greater verbal-performance discrepancy scores than would boys from other combinations of birth status and family structure. These boys had the lowest verbal IQ and highest performance IQ scores and, hence, the largest discrepancy. These boys also suffered the highest degree of abuse and neglect of all four birth status/family structure combinations studied.     

The relationship between personality, social functioning, and depression: a structural equation modeling analysis

The relationship between personality, social functioning, and depression remains unclear. The present study employs structural equation modeling to examine the mediating role of social functioning between harm avoidance (HA), self-directedness (SD), and depression. A sample of 902 individuals completed a self-report questionnaire consisting of the following scales: HA and SD subscales of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Social Adaptation Self-Evaluation Scale (SASS). Structural equation modeling via analysis of moment structure was used to estimate the fit of nine related models. Results indicated that social functioning is a mediator between harm avoidance or self-directness and depression. Self-directedness was also shown to have direct effects on depression. The results support the social reinforcement theory of depression and provide a theoretical account of how the variables are related based on correlation methods. Suggestions are offered for future experimental and longitudinal research.     

Micro Practice and Faith-Based Initiatives: The Role of Religious Congregations in the Social Service System

SUMMARY

Religious organizations have provided services for older adults for thousands of years. For the sons and daughters of Abraham, this is Biblically mandated. Charitable Choice and the President's Office of Faith-Based Initiatives is only the most recent effort to bring this informal caregiving system into dialogue with the remainder of the formal social service system in the United States. At this time, religious congregations play a gap-filling role in the community service system. Their services range from informal volunteer-driven approaches to a local need, to large formal service systems. From the first draft of the Older American's Act, nutrition sites have specifically named religious congregations in partners with the service system. Today this system continues to be ready to support at least the seniors in their own congregations.     

Using Stories in Dynamically Oriented Clinical Social Work

Abstract

This paper uses concepts from discourse analysis to understand the meaning making functions of narrative in clinical treatment and to describe the interactive processes through which these functions are achieved. “Negotiative” and “heuristic” narrative processes are described as they occur in ordinary conversation. The relevance of these concepts to clinical practice is then explored using case material.     

Social networking site use: Linked to adolescents' social self‐concept,self‐esteem,and depressed mood

Adolescents spend a substantial amount of time using social networking sites (SNSs); however, little is known regarding whether such use is associated with indicators of adjustment. The present study employed a multidimensional measure of SNS use to investigate the link between Australian adolescent SNS use and indicators of adjustment. Youth (N = 1,819, 55% female) from 34 diverse high schools across Western Australia were surveyed. The results showed that frequency of SNS use was linked to higher social self‐concept while investment in SNSs was associated with lower self‐esteem and higher depressed mood. Furthermore, having an SNS was linked to more negative indicators for female adolescents compared with male adolescents, although the link between frequency of use and investment in SNSs to indicators of adjustment was not moderated by gender. The present study highlights the complexity of the relationship between adolescent SNS use and indicators of adjustment, and offers insight into the diverse types of adolescent use of SNSs.     

Subjective social status and intergroup attitudes among ethnic majority and minority children in Portugal

A measure of subjective social status (SSS) was examined among high (White), and low (Black and Roma) ethnic status children in Portugal within a developmental design including 6–8‐year‐old and 9–12‐year‐old children. White children favoured their in‐group over the Black and Roma out‐groups on the SSS measure, social preferences and positive as well as negative trait attributions. Generally, the Black and Roma showed equal SSS, preferences and trait attribution for their in‐group and the high status White out‐group, but not the other low‐status out‐group. With age White children generally demonstrated higher SSS for Black and Roma, preferred them more and attributed more positive traits. For low‐status groups, an age effect was found only for Black children who preferred the Roma more with age and attributed more positive traits. Changes on preferences and trait attribution depending on age‐group were mediated by SSS. It is concluded that minority group's SSS does not parallel the objective status hierarchy but, rather, is a dynamic reorganisation of group's relative positions serving strategies to cope with their minority condition.     

Identification of shareholder ethics and responsibilities in online reverse auctions for construction projects

The increasing number of companies providing internet services and auction tools helped popularize the online reverse auction trend for purchasing commodities and services in the last decade. As a result, a number of owners, both public and private, accepted the online reverse auctions as the bidding technique for their construction projects. Owners, while trying to minimize their costs for construction projects, are also required to address their ethical responsibilities to the shareholders. In the case of online reverse auctions for construction projects, the ethical issues involved in the bidding technique directly reflects on the owner’s ethical and social responsibilities to their shareholders. The goal of this paper is to identify the shareholder ethics and responsibilities in online reverse auctions for construction projects by analyzing the ethical issues for the parties involved in the process. The identification of the ethical issues and responsibilities requires clear definition and understanding of professional ethics and the roles of the involved parties. In this paper, first, the concept of professional ethics and social responsibility is described in a general form. To illustrate the ethical issues and responsibilities, a sample case of bidding for a construction project using online reverse auction techniques is presented in which the shareholders were actively involved in questioning the ethical issues. The issues involved in the bidding process and their reflection on the shareholder responsibilities are described and analyzed for each stage of the process. A brief discussion of the overall process is also included to address the general ethical issues involved in online reverse auctions. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the “Ethics and Social Responsibility in Engineering and Technology” meeting, New Orleans, 2003.     

“自杀”：一个重要的伦理问题

自杀现已成为人类死亡十大原因之一 ,而且呈现出低龄化的趋势 ,越来越引起社会的关注。因而 ,从政治、经济、社会、疾病、文化等多视角来寻找自杀的外部原因 ,对探究这个重要的伦理问题是有益的。