‘Su guagua no escucha nada’: Ecuadorian families confronting the deafness of a child

In accordance with the social model of disability, this study proceeded from the assumption that parents’ experiences of a child’s hearing impairment reflect the circumstances of their lives rather than anything innate in the impairment itself. Few studies have explored the influence both of culture and social structure and of families’ economic and social resources. We studied families’ experiences of the diagnosis of hearing loss in Ecuador, a multicultural country in which family ties are strong but where pronounced social and economic inequalities persist and where many people have no access to health care. The study shows how inequality – and in particular the experience of poverty – shapes families’ experiences of acquiring a diagnosis and of trying to accommodate a child with special needs.     

Subjectivity in debate: Some reconstructed philosophical premises to advance its discussion in psychology

The topic of subjectivity has been treated peripherally by philosophy. It has appeared in philosophy not as a specific human phenomenon, but attached to other concepts without specifying its ontological definition, such as intersubjectivity, the place of the Other in the emergence of the self, consciousness and so forth. This paper reconstructs some of the overlooked moments and ideas of several classical philosophers, such as Marx, Dewey, Merleau Ponty, Cassirer and Foucault, in order to identify in their works important antecedents to advance a different concept of subjectivity. The concepts and questions which are raised by those philosophers and which are revived in this paper have remained overlooked both by philosophy and psychology because of the lack of any representation of subjectivity capable of making them more visible. The ontological monopoly of language and discourse in explaining all human phenomena, taken together with the critique of theoretical systems and of epistemology, has found in social constructionism its strongest expression in psychology. The value of theoretical systems in generating intelligibility about complex and configurational phenomena is recovered, along with the need to develop new epistemologies capable of generating intelligibility on such systems. Finally, I argue that a new theoretical and epistemological avenue is opened up for the development of psychological thought.     

Estimating correlations between vaccine clinical trial outcomes

We demonstrate how a linear factor model with latent variables can be used to estimate correlations between the outcomes of clinical trials. These correlations are needed for many policy questions of drug/vaccine development (such as calculating the optimal size of financial incentives) and the literature so far has relied on expert opinions. We apply our methodology to the case of vaccines and show that the estimated correlations are highly significant. We also illustrate how the estimated correlations can be used to find the probability of obtaining a successful vaccine out of a certain number of candidates and to determine optimal investment in vaccine development.     

Local Influence Analysis for Skew-Normal Linear Mixed Models

In this article, we consider local influence analysis for the skew-normal linear mixed model (SN-LMM). As the observed data log-likelihood associated with the SN-LMM is intractable, Cook's well-known approach cannot be applied to obtain measures of local influence. Instead, we develop local influence measures following the approach of Zhu and Lee (2001 Zhu , H. , Lee , S. ( 2001 ). Local influence for incomplete-data models . J. Roy. Statist. Soc. Ser. B 63 : 111 – 126 .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). This approach is based on the use of an EM-type algorithm and is measurement invariant under reparametrizations. Four specific perturbation schemes are discussed. Results obtained for a simulated data set and a real data set are reported, illustrating the usefulness of the proposed methodology.     

Effect of testosterone therapy on lumbar spine and hip mineral density in elderly men

Objective.?The aim of the present study was to analyse the effect of testosterone therapy on bone mineral density in healthy elderly men who had low levels of total testosterone.

Design.?Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Participants.?Forty-eight men over 60 years old with decreased testosterone levels (≤320 ng/dL) comprised the study. Twenty-five out of 48 received intramuscular injections of testosterone enanthate every three weeks during 12 months; the remaining 23 participants formed the control group. All participants had measurements of bone mineral density (BMD) in both lumbar spine and hip before and at the end of the study as well as testosterone and 17-β estradiol levels.

Results:?Testosterone treated group exhibited a significant (p < 0.05) increment (from 1.198 ± 0.153 to 1.240 ± 0.141 g/cm²) in lumbar BMD in parallel with a significant (p < 0.001) increment (from 301 ± 32 to 471 ± 107 ng/dL) in testosterone concentrations, whereas no significant change occurred in femoral neck BMD.

Conclusions.?Testosterone therapy elicited a positive effect only in lumbar BMD in elderly men with diminished testosterone serum levels.     

BUYER POWER AND INTRABRAND COORDINATION

We analyze the competitive effects of various contractual provisions in a situation where rival retailers make offers to a common manufacturer. In contrast to Marx and Shaffer (2007 , Rand Journal of Economics, 38(3), 823–843), who find that a strong retailer can use slotting allowances (that is, upfront payments from manufacturers) to exclude its weaker rival, we show that foreclosure is no longer inevitable once retailers' offers can be contingent on the relationship being exclusive or not. There then exist equilibria that sustain the industry monopoly outcome; moreover, as long as retailers can use non‐linear tariffs, such equilibria exist irrespectively of whether slotting allowances are allowed or banned. Non‐contingent contracts, on the other hand, necessarily lead to exclusion, with or without slotting allowances. A ban on slotting allowances may therefore prove ineffective, while a ban on exclusive dealing options in supply contracts leads to foreclosure.     

Characteristics of adolescents who provide neither parental consent nor refusal for participation in school-based survey research

Schools offer a convenient setting for research on adolescents. However, obtaining active written parental consent is difficult. In a 6th-grade smoking study, students were recruited with two consent procedures: active consent (parents must provide written consent for their children to participate) and implied consent (children may participate unless their parents provide written refusal). Of 4,427 invited students, 3,358 (76%) provided active parental consent, 420 (9%) provided active parental refusal, and 649 (15%) provided implied consent (parental nonresponse). The implied consent procedure recruited more boys, African Americans, students with poor grades, and smokers. This dual-consent procedure is useful for collecting some limited data from students who do not provide active consent or refusal.     

Between memory and history A word about intercultural education

The author briefly describes the history of the intercultural approach at the Council of Europe, which is largely responsible for the promotion of this concept, as well as for the development of a network of thought and action throughout Europe.

The article stresses the fact that, contrary to what some researchers may lead us to believe, the intercultural concept has always included the aspects of interaction, of reciprocity, of dialogue and of solidarity. In addition, pedagogical and sociological practice, where thought and action are closely linked have influenced its development.

We can now state that there are more and more places where intercultural thought and action are being pursued. Movements promoting international education, global education, civic European education, Human Rights education, etc., have different backgrounds, but their current prospects are converging. The expression ‘Human Rights education’ is often used in a generic way. However, Human Rights education that wishes to transcend ethnocentric behaviour needs to be intercultural.

     

Fifty years after L. I. Bozhovich’s personality and its formation in childhood: recovering her legacy and her historical role

This paper discusses the legacy of one of the more controversial figures of Soviet psychology, L. I. Bozhovich. The paper presents a brief historical outline of Bozhovich’s scientific life. Also discussed are the theoretical differences between Vygotsky and Leontiev. The main theoretical concepts proposed by Bozhovich are discussed, making explicit their interrelations as well as their implications for Soviet psychology. The paper also presents Bozhovich’s periodization of personality, based on the relation between social situation of development and perezhivanie as the theoretical core of that periodization.