MORALIZED PSYCHOLOGY OR PSYCHOLOGIZED MORALITY? ETHICS AND PSYCHOLOGY IN RECENT THEORIZING ABOUT MORAL AND CHARACTER EDUCATION

A bstract .  Moral philosophy seems well placed to claim the key role in theorizing about moral education. Indeed, moral philosophers have from antiquity had much to say about psychological and other processes of moral formation. Given this history, it may seem ironic that much systematic latter-day theorizing about moral education has been social scientific, and that some of the major trends in the field have been led by empirical or other psychologists. Moreover, while acknowledging the influence of such major past philosophers as Plato, Aristotle, and Kant on the primary modern movements of cognitive developmentalism, care ethics, and character education, some recent social scientists have called for the development of a "psychologized morality" in the interests of an even more leading role for psychological research in the theory of moral formation. In this essay, David Carr surveys and critically evaluates these trends in theorizing moral education.     

The Ecology of School Improvement: Notes on the School Improvement Industry in the United States

This paper explains how organizations otherthan schools and governing agencies affect thescope and pace of change in American education.In particular, the paper discusses a set oforganizations operating in what can be calledthe school improvement ``industry' in the UnitedStates, that is, a group of organizationsproviding schools and governing agencies withinformation, training, materials, andprogrammatic resources relevant to problems ofinstructional improvement. The paper shows howthe structure and functioning of theseorganizations explain patterns of change inAmerican education – including why schools inthe United States experience wave after wave ofinnovation and reform while at the same timemaintaining a stable core of instructionalpractices.     

Authoring systems reassessed

A study of authoring system technology was done to update a previous study done in 1985. While the earlier study focused on software selection methods, the current one emphasizes trends in authoring tool characteristics, vendor approaches to the market-place, and evaluation methods. It also raises questions about some of the often tacit assumptions underlying the technology's development and use.     

User-design in the creation of human learning systems

Systems theory and thinking are fundamental for the effective application of human performance technologies and instructional design to organizational and educational change efforts. One of the cornerstones of systemic change is the involvement of all stakeholders in what is termed participatory- or user-design. While the value of including the users in the creation of large systems of education and human performance (such as training, computer systems, and curriculum) is apparent, the reality of such inclusive efforts has a history of failure. Meeting the challenge of shifting power dynamics, empowering stakeholders and educating for design must, at some level, fall to the leaders of any dynamic organization. This paper describes systemic change as a context for user-design and defines user-design in that context. Approaches to user-design are explored, including ethnographic field methods, cooperative design, and action research-based user-design as applied to the creation and implementation of new technologies. A proposed research plan for the advancement of user-design practice concludes the work.     

Pain-elicited aggression in the squirrel monkey: An implicit avoidance contingency

Squirrel monkeys were given either forward pairings of a bite-tube CS and shock US or backward pairings of these stimuli. Backward pairings produced stronger control of biting by the bite tube alone than did forward pairings. In a second experiment, subjects received backward pairings of US and CS with either a fixed ITI or a random ITI. Conditioned biting was obtained only when trials were presented with a fixed ITI. The magnitude of unconditioned biting was also significantly greater with the fixed ITI. It was argued that these results demonstrate that conditioning in this situation depends upon the degree to which biting predicts a relatively long shock-free period. When trials occur randomly in time, biting predicts no definite shock-free period; hence, it is not learned.     

The effect of normal load force and roughness on the dynamic traction developed at the shoe–surface interface in tennis

During tennis-specific movements, such as accelerating and side stepping, the dynamic traction provided by the shoe–surface combination plays an important role in the injury risk and performance of the player. Acrylic hard court tennis surfaces have been reported to have increased injury occurrence, partly caused by increased traction that developed at the shoe–surface interface. Often mechanical test methods used for the testing and categorisation of playing surfaces do not tend to simulate loads occurring during participation on the surface, and thus are unlikely to predict the human response to the surface. A traction testing device, discussed in this paper, has been used to mechanically measure the dynamic traction force between the shoe and the surface under a range of normal loading conditions that are relevant to real-life play. Acrylic hard court tennis surfaces generally have a rough surface topography, due to their sand and acrylic paint mixed top coating. Surface micro-roughness will influence the friction mechanisms present during viscoelastic contacts, as found in footwear–surface interactions. This paper aims to further understand the influence micro-roughness and normal force has on the dynamic traction that develops at the shoe–surface interface on acrylic hard court tennis surfaces. The micro-roughness and traction of a controlled set of acrylic hard court tennis surfaces have been measured. The relationships between micro-roughness, normal force, and traction force are discussed.     

Library and informatics skills competencies statements from major health professional associations

Every major health profession now provides competency statements for preparing new members for their respective professions. These competency statements normally include expectations for training health professions students in library/informatics skills. For purposes of this article, searches were conducted using various sources to produce a comprehensive 32-page Compendium that inventories library/informatics-related competency statements. This compendium should aid readers in integrating their library/informatics skills training into various health professions education curricula.     

Autonomic Regulation on the Stroop Predicts Reading Achievement in School Age Children

In this study we examined high frequency heart rate variability (HF‐HRV, a parasympathetic index) both at rest and during challenge, to assess if variations in cardiovascular activity measured during a Stroop task could be used to predict reading achievement in typically developing children. Reading achievement was examined using the Peabody Individual Achievement Test–Revised. Results showed that greater HF‐HRV suppression during both the Stroop word and Stroop word–color conflict tasks was associated with better reading achievement. Higher basal levels of HF‐HRV did not predict better reading scores. These results are among the first to show a link between HF‐HRV and reading achievement in a normative school age population, and offer new insight into the association between cognitive activity and autonomic regulation of the heart.