Reflections from damaged modernity

The cliché about modern architecture being the fairy-tale fulfillment of every fantasy ceases to be a cliché only when it is accompanied by the fairy tale’s moral: that the fulfillment of the wishes rarely engenders goodness in the one doing the wishing (Adorno). Wishing for the right things in architecture and the city is the most difficult art of all: since the grim childhood-tales of the twentieth century we have been weaned from dreams and utopias, the stuff of modernism’s bad conscience. For Adorno writing in 1953, Hollywood cinema was a medium of “regression” based on infantile wish fulfillment manufactured by the industrial repetition (mimesis) of the filmic image that he called a modern “hieroglyphics,” like the archaic language of pictures in Ancient Egypt which guaranteed immortality after death in Egyptian burial rites. Arguably, today the iconic architecture industry is the executor of archaic images of modernity linked to rituals of death, promises of omnipotence and immortality. As I will argue in this symposium, such buildings are not a reflection of external ‘reality,’ but regression to an internal architectural polemic that secretly carries out the rituals of modernism’s death and seeks to make good on the liabilities of architectural history.

中学生强迫症状及其心理、环境危险因素和整合模型研究

Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms, which are one of common factors effected on mental health of secondary school students, have been rarely studied at home and abroad. In accordance with the problems existed in these literature up till now, the thesis had mainly studied the measured tool, contents and structure, developmental features, psychosocial risk factors and integrated model of obsessive-compulsive symptoms from them by means of investigation with quetionnaires. The entire research was divided into three phases. 3185 students(age 14.68±1.75 years) were firstly measured with the 20-item Leyton Obsessional Inventory-Child Version(LOI-CV) at four secondary schools including six grades in Beijing city, which was applied to revise LOI-CV, and to study the structure and contents, developmental features and screen of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Then, 216 subjects with obsessive-compulsive symptoms, paired with controls in the light of school, grade and gender, were investigated with 10 self-rating scales on obsessive-compulsive symptoms, anxiety, depression, personality, coping and attributional style, negative life events, parent's rearing style, family environment and life adaptation in school, and with an inventory on social demography. The results were used to explore psychosocial risk factors and integrated model of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The third survey was only carried out, about two months after the second, among 264 subjects with obsessive-compulsive symptoms through MMOCI and Negative Life Event Scale for Adolescents, in order to probe into the integrated model. The research had mainly found: (1) LOI-CV can be used as a screen tool for obsessive-compulsive symptoms in urban adolescents in China; (2) Total screening-out ratio of obsessive-compulsive symptoms was 13.6% (male:15.0%, female:12.2%). The most common manifestations of obsessive-compulsive symptoms were hating dirt and contamination, doing things in exact manner, angry if someone messes desk, bad conscience but no one else, worry about cleanliness, repeated thoughts or words; the least were favorite or special number, spending extra time on homework, special number or words to avoid, talking or moving to avoid bad luck, fussy about hands. The checking and repetition, cleanliness and tidiness, general obsessions were more common forms than numbers-luck; (3) No differences were existed in serious degree of obsessive-compulsive symptoms, but the screening-out ratio in male was higher than it in female; (4) No differences were detected in the serious degree of obsessive-compulsive symptoms except the scores of cleanliness and tidiness among grades, but the screening-out ratio of the grades justly entering secondary school or going to graduate were higher than other ones; (5) The main psychosocial risk factors for obsessive-compulsive symptoms included anxiety, mother's over-protecting and over-interfering, fantasy, flexibility, self-actualization, peers relationship, sense of responsibility, negative life events, mother's occupation, help-seeking, and (6) The integrated model on psychosocial risk factors suggested that the possible developed and sustained mechanism of obsessive-compulsive symptoms was that personality, coping and attributional styles constructed the developmental diathesis foundation of obsessive-compulsive symptoms; negative life events were promoting factors of them. There was a dynamic interaction between personality and environmental factors. Negative emotion played a core role in the developmental process of them. The continued existence of obsessive-compulsive symptoms was related to pre-existed obsessive-compulsive symptoms and negative life events experienced by an individual. Therefore, this research not only let us get a deeper understanding of obsessive-compulsive symptoms and more entirely find out psychosocial risk factors, firstly applied diathesis-stress theory to comprehend the psychological mechanism of obsessive-compulsive symptoms and, moreover, elaborate and expand it, but also has more important practice significance of treatment, prevent and education for obsessive-compulsive symptoms in secondary school students.

Biståndshandläggaren och samvetsstressen : En kvalitativ intervjustudie

Syftet med studien var att utforska socialarbetares upplevelse av arbetsrelaterad samvetsstress. Vi ville identifiera vad samvetsstress kan vara för yrkesgruppen socialarbetare vars arbetsuppgift innefattar myndighetsutövning och vad i arbetet som orsakar samvetsstress. Sex stycken kvalitativa intervjuer genomfördes med socialarbetare vars yrke innefattar myndighetsutövning. Resultatet visar att samtliga intervjupersoner upplever samvetsstress när de beskriver sig ha svårt att hantera sitt dåliga samvete och att detta leder till negativa psykiska och fysiska stressymptom. Intervjupersonerna beskriver dock upplevelsen av samvetsstress i olika grad vilka kategoriserades: ständig närvaro av samvetsstress, närvaro av samvetsstress i vissa situationer samt medveten bortträngning av samvetsstress. Resultatet visar vidare att samvetsstress kan skapas av de krav och förväntningar som organisationen, brukare och anhöriga samt socialarbetaren själv har om de upplevs som övermäktiga och motstridiga. Vår studie indikerar på ett behov av vidare forskning om samvetsstress hos socialarbetare.

Rastros del fundamentalismo pedagógico en la formación de profesores

Este artículo está organizado en dos partes, la primera relata una investigación hecha en el campo de la Formación de Profesores en los años del cambio de milenio en Brasil. A partir de la misma, en la segunda parte, se presenta un análisis de la caricatura del fundamentalismo pedagógico como forma de cautivar a los lectores (profesores en formación) e inducidos a un camino de 'mala conciencia' respecto a su propia trayectoria profesional.

Rastros del fundamentalismo pedagógico en la formación de profesores

Este artículo está organizado en dos partes, la primera relata una investigación hecha en el campo de la Formación de Profesores en los años del cambio de milenio en Brasil. A partir de la misma, en la segunda parte, se presenta un análisis de la caricatura del fundamentalismo pedagógico como forma de cautivar a los lectores (profesores en formación) e inducidos a un camino de 'mala conciencia' respecto a su propia trayectoria profesional.

Rastros del fundamentalismo pedagógico en la formación de profesores

Este artículo está organizado en dos partes, la primera relata una investigación hecha en el campo de la Formación de Profesores en los años del cambio de milenio en Brasil. A partir de la misma, en la segunda parte, se presenta un análisis de la caricatura del fundamentalismo pedagógico como forma de cautivar a los lectores (profesores en formación) e inducidos a un camino de 'mala conciencia' respecto a su propia trayectoria profesional.

From the account manager’s conscience to top-of-mind : account planning in Australia

What began as the “account manager’s conscience” has grown to be top-of-mind in Australian advertising today. Account planning is a hybrid discipline which uses research to bring the consumer voice to the campaign process during strategy generation, creative development and evaluation. In Australia, account planning is subjected to the “Vegemite Factor” where planners are spread too thinly across accounts and much of the market is dominated by freelance researchers and planners. This unique environment has shaped many different perceptions of account planning in Australia. These are compared with an international definition of account planning and the current research. While many basic tenants of the definition are shared by Australian advertising professionals, the difference appears to be in the ongoing nature, team approach and level of commitment. In Australia, account planners seem to be more facilitators of the strategic direction, than directors of it. Instead of exerting a sustained influence across the campaign, most energy appears to be expended at the start of campaign development, rather than extending through to its evaluation.

Exercise and lymphoedema : Is it good or bad?

Being physically active during and following treatment for breast cancer has been associated with a range of benefits including improved fitness and function, body composition and immune function and reductions in stress, depression and anxiety, as well as the number and severity of treatment-related side-effects such as nausea, fatigue and pain, all of which contribute to improvements in quality of life. There is also emerging evidence linking active lifestyles with improved survival. Therefore, there is little doubt that participating in regular exercise following breast cancer is ‘good’. Unfortunately, research investigating the role of exercise for women considered at high-risk of lymphoedema or who have developed lymphedema following breast cancer is lacking. For fear of initiating or exacerbating lymphoedema, these women have traditionally been cautioned rather than encouraged to be regularly active. However, recent preliminary findings suggest that being inactive may increase risk of developing lymphedema, and that for those with lymphoedema, participation in an exercise program does not exacerbate the condition. This presentation will address what we know about the role of exercise following a breast cancer diagnosis and will provide some practical recommendations about becoming and staying regularly active following breast cancer, for those with and without lymphoedema.

Show me a bad kid and I’ll show you a lousy parent : making parents responsible for youth crime in Australian and Canadian Contexts

This article surveys literature bearing on the issue of parental liability and responsibility for the crimes of young offenders, with a particular focus on comparing different approaches to dealing with the issue in Australia and Canada. This comparative analysis of Australian and Canadian legislative and policy approaches is situated within a broader discussion of arguments about the “punitive turn” in youth justice, responsibilisation, and cross-jurisdictional criminal justice policy transfer and convergence. Our findings suggest that there are significant differences in the manner and extent to which Australia and Canada have invoked parental responsibility laws and policies as part of the solution to dealing with youth crime. We conclude by speculating on some of the reasons for these differences and establishing an agenda for additional needed cross-jurisdictional research. In particular, we argue that it would be fruitful to undertake a cross-jurisdictional study that examines the development and effects of parental responsibility laws across a larger number of different Western countries as well as across individual states and provinces within these national jurisdictions.

“Show me a bad kid and I’ll show you a lousy parent” : making parents responsible for youth crime in Australian and Canadian contexts

In this article we survey relevant international literature on the issue of parental liability and responsibility for the crimes of young offenders. In addition, as a starting point for needed cross-jurisdictional research, we focus on different approaches that have been taken to making parents responsible for youth crime in Australia and Canada. This comparative analysis of Australian and Canadian legislative and policy approaches is situated within a broader discussion of arguments about parental responsibility, the ‘punitive turn’ in youth justice, and cross-jurisdictional criminal justice policy transfer and convergence. One unexpected finding of our literature survey is the relatively sparse attention given to the issue of parental responsibility for youth crime in legal and criminological literature compared to the attention it receives in the media and popular-public culture. In Part I we examine the different views that have been articulated in the social science literature for and against parental responsibility laws, along with arguments that have been made about why such laws have been enacted in an increasing number of Western countries in recent years. In Part II, we situate our comparative study of Australian and Canadian legislative and policy approaches within a broader discussion of arguments about the ‘punitive turn’ in youth justice, responsibilisation, and cross-jurisdictional criminal justice policy transfer and convergence. In Part III, we identify and examine the scope of different parental responsibility laws that have been enacted in Australia and Canada; noting significant differences in the manner and extent to which parental responsibility laws and policies have been invoked as part of the solution to dealing with youth crime. In our concluding discussion, in Part IV, we try to speculate on some of the reasons for these differences and set an agenda for needed future research on the topic.

Reinforcing bad behaviour : the misuse of security indicators on popular websites

Before making a security or privacy decision, Internet users should evaluate several security indicators in their browser, such as the use of HTTPS (indicated via the lock icon), the domain name of the site, and information from extended validation certificates. However, studies have shown that human subjects infrequently employ these indicators, relying on other indicators that can be spoofed and convey no cryptographic assurances. We identify four simple security indicators that accurately represent security properties of the connection and then examine 125 popular websites to determine if the sites' designs result in correctly displayed security indicators during login. In the vast majority of cases, at least some security indicators are absent or suboptimal. This suggests users are becoming habituated to ignoring recommended security indicators.

‘You’re a bad driver but I just made a mistake’ : attribution differences between the ‘victims’ and ‘perpetrators’ of scenario-based aggressive driving incidents

Driver aggression is an increasing concern for motorists, with some research suggesting that drivers who behave aggressively perceive their actions as justified by the poor driving of others. Thus attributions may play an important role in understanding driver aggression. A convenience sample of 193 drivers (aged 17-36) randomly assigned to two separate roles (‘perpetrators’ and ‘victims’) responded to eight scenarios of driver aggression. Drivers also completed the Aggression Questionnaire and Driving Anger Scale. Consistent with the actor-observer bias, ‘victims’ (or recipients) in this study were significantly more likely than ‘perpetrators’ (or instigators) to endorse inadequacies in the instigator’s driving skills as the cause of driver aggression. Instigators were significantly more likely attribute the depicted behaviours to external but temporary causes (lapses in judgement or errors) rather than stable causes. This suggests that instigators recognised drivers as responsible for driving aggressively but downplayed this somewhat in comparison to ‘victims’/recipients. Recipients and instigators agreed that the behaviours were examples of aggressive driving but instigators appeared to focus on the degree of intentionality of the driver in making their assessments while recipients appeared to focus on the safety implications. Contrary to expectations, instigators gave mean ratings of the emotional impact of driving aggression on recipients that were higher in all cases than the mean ratings given by the recipients. Drivers appear to perceive aggressive behaviours as modifiable, with the implication that interventions could appeal to drivers’ sense of self-efficacy to suggest strategies for overcoming plausible and modifiable attributions (e.g. lapses in judgement; errors) underpinning behaviours perceived as aggressive.