Development and use of behavior and social interaction software installed on Palm handheld for observation of a child’s social interactions with the environment

In settings in developing countries, children often socialize with multiple socializing agents (peers, siblings, neighbors) apart from their parents, and thus, a measurement of a child’s social interactions should be expanded beyond parental interactions. Since the environment plays a role in shaping a child’s development, the measurement of child-socializing agents’ interactions is important. We developed and used a computerized observational softwareBehavior and Social Interaction Software (BASIS) with a preloaded coding scheme installed on a handheld Palm device to record complex observations of interactions between children and socializing agents. Using BASIS, social interaction assessments were conducted on 573 preschool children for 1 h in their natural settings. Multiple screens with a set of choices in each screen were designed that included the child’s location, broad activity, state, and interactions with child-socializing agents. Data were downloaded onto a computer and systematically analyzed. BASIS, installed on Palm OS (M-125), enabled the recording of the complex interactions of child-socializing agents that could not be recorded with manual forms. Thus, this tool provides an innovative and relatively accurate method for the systematic recording of social interactions in an unrestricted environment.     

Methodological appraisals, advice, and historiographical models

In the paper I examine (Section I) the best defense for the claim that methodologies shouldnot function heuristically (thesis-LW) as it appears in John Worrall. I then evaluate (Section II) his proposal of a criterion^* M which is offered as a criterion for evaluating competing methodologies such as falsificationism, conventionalism, methodology of research programmes. etc. Finally, I consider (Section III) the consequences of arguments presented earlier (Section I and II) as they bear on the problem of selecting a historiographical model.I argue, among other things, (I) that thesis-LW is defended on some very dubious assumptions; (II) that Worrall's criterion^* M falters under three clear cases two of which at least^*M should accomodate, and that part of^* M's failure can be linked to its being hooked to thesis-LW. By arguments analogous to the ones which serve^* M, I show thatcontra John Worrall and John Watkins, thesis-LW is testable; finally, (III) if we accept arguments for thesis-LW and^* M we are left with a skeptical conclusion with respect to the choice of a historiographical model which Worrall by parity of reasoning should accept, but does not.     

Models of reduction and categories of reductionism

A classification of models of reduction into three categories — theory reductionism, explanatory reductionism, and constitutive reductionism — is presented. It is shown that this classification helps clarify the relations between various explications of reduction that have been offered in the past, especially if a distinction is maintained between the various epistemological and ontological issues that arise. A relatively new model of explanatory reduction, one that emphasizes that reduction is the explanation of a whole in terms of its parts is also presented in detail. Finally, the classification is used to clarify the debate over reductionism in molecular biology. It is argued there that while no model from the category of theory reduction might be applicable in that case, models of explanatory reduction might yet capture the structure of the relevant explanations.Thanks are due to David Hull, Michael Martin, Ken Schaffner, Abner Shimony and William Wimsatt for many valuable discussions of these issues and for comments and criticism of an earlier version of this paper. This paper was partly written during the tenure of a grant from the Boston University Graduate School.     

Empirical equivalence and underdetermination

Jarrett Leplin in A Novel Defense of Scientific Realism (1997) argues that if the thesis of empirical equivalence is cogent, then the thesis of underdetermination cannot even get off the ground. Part of Leplin's argument rests on the claim that auxiliary hypotheses can be independently confirmed, thus enabling us to determine the epistemic worth of a theory. This, in turn, helps in determining about what we should be realists. Leplin's claims are demonstrated to be problematic. Leplin wants, inconsistently, to use only those auxiliary hypotheses which dovetail with confirmed theories. Finally, a detail of Leplin's argument is found wanting.     

Non-work Domain Control as an Additional Dimension of Psychological Empowerment of Women Teachers

This paper extends Work/Family Border Theory in the context of psychological empowerment. It describes the development, validation and application of an additional dimension of empowerment, termed as “non-work domain control”. This dimension incorporates an employee’s ability to take decisions at household and immediate community level, not related to formal workplace. The study has three parts involving women primary school teachers of India. It included development of a measure and examining the pattern of variation in non-work domain control (n=401) among primary school teachers. The results showed that age, educational qualification, salary, and class-size affect some scale items. The result of structural equation modeling confirmed that non-work domain control is an additional dimension of psychological empowerment.     

Anisotropic grain growth kinetics in nanocrystalline nickel

ABSTRACT

Intriguing properties exhibited by nanocrystalline metals, including a high level of mechanical strength, arise from their nanometer-scale grain sizes. It is critical to determine the evolution of grain size of nanocrystalline materials at elevated temperature, as this process can drastically change the mechanical properties. In this work, a nanocrystalline Ni foil with grain size ～ 25?nm was annealed in situ in an X-ray diffractometer. X-ray diffraction peaks were analysed to determine the grain growth kinetics. The grain growth exponents obtained were ～ 2–4 depending upon the crystallographic direction, indicating the anisotropic nature of the grain growth kinetics.     

Acceptance of and engagement in risky driving behaviors by teenagers

Data gathered from 1,430 teenage student drivers and 880 teenage traffic violators were used to examine the levels of exposure to risky driving behaviors and perceptions concerning the level of danger of such behaviors. For student drivers, 55% reported exposure to risky driving by being in a car with a driver engaging in such activities as drunk driving, drag racing, and reckless driving. For the traffic violators, 43% had been engaged in one or more of the risky driving behaviors. Teenagers who had been exposed to risky driving practices were more accepting of risky driving behaviors.