The exploitation solution to the Non-Identity Problem

When discussing exploitation, we often say things like this, “sweatshop laborers have terrible working conditions and are paid almost nothing, but they are better off with that labor than with no labor.” Similarly, in describing the Non-Identity Problem, Derek Parfit points out: we cannot say that the individuals born in future generations are worse off because of our destructive environmental policies because the particular people living in those future generations wouldn’t even exist if it were not for these destructive policies. How can we explain these cases, exploitation and environmental destruction, as ones of wrongdoing when the victims in both cases are no worse off than they would have otherwise been? This paper investigates the link between these two moral puzzles and ultimately uses one to solve the other: an exploitation solution to the Non-Identity Problem.     

Young Adults' Perceptions and Memories of a Televised Woman Hero

One hundred and thirty-nine young adults viewed one of three episodes of a television program about a female action hero titled Xena: Warrior Princess. Programs varied in portrayals of Xena's shadow, the dark but also life-preserving facet of the personality. Participants of both genders who had higher levels of traditionally masculine personality characteristics were most likely to perceive Xena as a role model. Men were more likely than women to perceive Xena as a role model when she was portrayed with very little male shadow. Story themes describing women's heroic roles involved using your mind, not the sword, as well as the value of compassion during conflicts, themes that are in keeping with traditional feminine values. The results suggest that viewer acceptance of heroic qualities in women depends on viewer characteristics as well as program themes that include valued feminine qualities. Implications for portrayals of heroic women characters are discussed.     

Neue soziometrische Perspektiven

Zusammenfassung Die Hypothese, daß ein Zusammenhang besteht zwischen dem soziometrischen Wahlverhalten und einem oder mehreren Faktoren der Trias Valenz, Potenz und Erregung, konnte korrelationsstatistisch bestätigt werden. Es zeigte sich, daß die typischen soziometrischen Wahlfragen weitgehend einfaktoriell — valenzkorreliert — sind. Daneben spielt aber für bestimmte Fragen (z.B. Führerwahl) auch die Potenzdimension eine entscheidende Rolle. Die 21 in diesem Versuch verwendeten Kriterium-Fragen, unter denen sich auch soziale Meinungs-, Einstellungs- und Personwahrnehmungsfragen befanden, zeigten mit ihren Valenz-Potenz-Korrelationen eine gemeinsame funktionale Bezugsgrundlage.Das Eindrucksdifferential erwies sich als geeignetes Instrument, eine soziale Gruppe und ihre Angehörigen hinsichtlich ihrer Eigenschaften als Objekte und Subjekte sozialer Beziehungen zu kennzeichnen. Die Daten des Eindrucksdifferentials lassen eine objektive Strukturanalyse der Gruppe mit Hilfe der D-Faktormethode zu. Die Vorzüge der Methode sind zahlreich, so daß man gern bereit sein wird, ihre wenigen Nachteile (vor allem zeitlichen Aufwand) mit in Kauf zu nehmen, wenn es die Umstände erlauben. Die klassische soziometrische Methode der Vorzugswahlen wird jedoch bei jüngeren Kindern nicht durch die Differentialmethode zu ersetzen sein.

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Summary The hypothesis that sociometric choice behavior is intimately related to one or several factors of the factorial trias Valenz (evaluation), Potenz (potency) und Erregung (activity) was supported by this correlational study. It has been shown that the standard sociometric questions are correlated with Valenz. Certain other questions (leader choice questions e.g.) are further correlated with Potenz. Most of the 21 questions of a criterion questionnaire applied in this study, among them opinion, attitude and person perception items, proved to have a common functional frame of reference defined by the Valenz and Potenz coordinates.The differential method was shown to be a suitable instrument to analyze small groups and their members in terms of their intragroup relations. The data obtained by this method permit an objective subgroup analysis by the D-method of factorization. Unfortunately the procedure of differential scaling is more time consuming. But the advantages are numerous and prevail over the disadvantages. The classical sociometric test might remain the only applicable method in studies with younger children.

     

Denying the Suberogatory

Julia Driver has argued that there is a special set of actions, lodged between neutral actions and wrongful actions called suberogatory actions. These actions are not impermissible, according to Driver, but still strike us as troubling or bad, and are therefore worse than morally neutral (1992). Since this paper was written 20 years ago, many philosophers have utilized or alluded to this moral territory. The existence of some action-types that are not wrong but still carry some dis-value has become a staple in the realm of moral evaluation. However, Driver's argument for the existence of this moral territory amounts to three types of moral cases that, according to Driver, can only be explained by the existence of the suberogatory. In this short paper, I will respond by saying that we can account for these cases using our traditional notions of moral neutrality and moral wrongness. The temptation of invoking the suberogatory is that it can be used as a substitute for answering a variety of hard ethical questions. However appealing this substitute may be, we should resist it so long as the problem cases put forward to motivate the new evaluative realm can be handled, and handled well, by our traditional apparatus.     

Developing an Acceptance-Based Behavioral Treatment for Binge Eating Disorder: Rationale and Challenges

Binge eating disorder (BED), characterized by recurrent eating episodes in which individuals eat an objectively large amount of food within a short time period accompanied by a sense of loss of control, is the most common eating disorder. While existing treatments, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), produce remission in a large percentage of individuals with BED, room for improvement in outcomes remains. Two reasons some patients may continue to experience binge eating after a course of treatment are: (a) Difficulty complying with the prescribed behavioral components of CBT due to the discomfort of implementing such strategies; and (b) a lack of focus in current treatments on strategies for coping with high levels of negative affect that often drive binge eating. To optimize treatment outcomes, it is therefore crucial to provide patients with strategies to overcome these issues. A small but growing body of research suggests that acceptance-based treatment approaches may be effective for the treatment of binge eating. The goal of the current paper is to describe the development of an acceptance-based group treatment for BED, discuss the structure of the manual and the rationale and challenges associated with integrating acceptance-based strategies into a CBT protocol, and to discuss clinical strategies for successfully implementing the intervention.     

Counseling Outcomes From 1990 to 2008 for School‐Age Youth With Depression: A Meta‐Analysis

Clinical trials exploring the effectiveness of counseling and psychotherapy in treatment of depression in school‐age youth composed this meta‐analysis. Results were synthesized using a random effects model for mean difference and mean gain effect size estimates. No effects of moderating variables were evident. Counseling and psychotherapy are effective for treatment of depression in school‐age youth both at termination and follow‐up, and in school and nonschool settings.