Who Moved My Cheese? Adjusting to Age-Related Changes

The popular book, Who Moved My Cheese? (Johnson, 1998 Johnson , S. ( 1998 ). Who moved my cheese? . New York , NY : Putnam . [Google Scholar]) is a metaphor for change. This parable-like story has particular resonance with older adults who face many potential life-altering changes. The four characters in the book are looking for their cheese in a maze. Cheese represents whatever makes people happy. How each character adjusts to the loss of cheese parallels the process of adjusting to one or more of the many transitions in the lives of older adults. The character Hem fears change, so he resists and denies it while Haw learns to adapt when he is confronted with change. Sniff senses change early while Scurry gets right down to action in the light of impending changes. The straightforward lesson of “moving with the cheese” may help adults understand and cope with changes as they age. It may also propel health care and social service professionals toward a workable approach to change with their clients that provides positive opportunities for effective adaptation.     

Can young infants add and subtract?

Three experiments (N = 68), using Wynn's procedure, tested 5-month-old infants' looking time reactions to correct and incorrect results of simple addition and subtraction transformations. The aim was to investigate both the robustness and the parameters of infants' arithmetic competence. Experiments 1 and 2 (N = 44) were replications of Wynn's first two experiments in which infants were shown addition (1 + 1 = 1 or 2) and subtraction (2 - 1 = 1 or 2) requiring imprecise calculation. Experiment 3 (N = 24) was a subtraction counterpart (3 - 1 = 1 or 2) to Wynn's third experiment requiring precise calculation of addition (1 + 1 = 2 or 3). Unlike Wynn, we found no systematic evidence of either imprecise or precise adding and subtracting in young infants. Our results, together with the mix of both positive and negative findings from other studies of infant arithmetic, suggest that infants' reactions to displays of adding and subtracting are variable and, therefore, that infants' numerical competencies are not robust. This conclusion is consistent with previous findings indicating that simple adding and subtracting develops gradually and continuously throughout infancy and early childhood.     

Peut-on apprendre la paix à l’école ? Une évaluation du cours « Éducation aux droits de l’homme et à la citoyenneté » (EDHC) en Côte d’Ivoire post-conflit

Can we learn peace at school? An evaluation of the “Human rights and Citizenship Education” (EDHC) course in post-conflict Ivory Coast – After the post-electoral crisis, the government of Ivory Coast introduced a course entitled “Human rights and citizenship education” (EDHC) to the lower secondary school curriculum to facilitate a societal transition to a culture of peace. This article, which examines the perceptions of course participants and their teachers, is based on a large-scale survey (n = 984), 25 focus groups and course observations carried out in Abidjan. An analysis of the course’s strengths and weaknesses from the point of view of the key players in the education system enables the authors to evaluate its effectiveness. They find that, despite the enthusiasm around this course, its lack of depth is preventing a change of mentality. In addition, the message of peace that the course strives to convey is compromised by school violence.     

NATURAL DISASTERS THAT REVEAL CRACKS IN OUR SOCIAL FOUNDATION

The recent deaths of more than 13,000 French elderly in the European heat wave of 2003 revealed cracks in the social foundation of urban communities, here and abroad. The breakdown occurred in community services, neighborhood networks, and governmental agencies that were responsible for warning of impending dangers to at-risk elderly. This paper provides a profile of the at-risk elderly, the means to reach them, and a plan to match needs to resources.     

School attendance problems and youth psychopathology: structural cross-lagged regression models in three longitudinal data sets

This study tests a model of reciprocal influences between absenteeism and youth psychopathology using 3 longitudinal datasets (Ns = 20,745, 2,311, and 671). Participants in 1st through 12th grades were interviewed annually or biannually. Measures of psychopathology include self-, parent-, and teacher-report questionnaires. Structural cross-lagged regression models were tested. In a nationally representative data set (Add Health), middle school students with relatively greater absenteeism at Study Year 1 tended toward increased depression and conduct problems in Study Year 2, over and above the effects of autoregressive associations and demographic covariates. The opposite direction of effects was found for both middle and high school students. Analyses with 2 regionally representative data sets were also partially supportive. Longitudinal links were more evident in adolescence than in childhood.