African-american mortality at older ages: Results of a matching study

In this paper we investigate the quality of age reporting on death certificates of elderly African-Americans. We link a sample of death certificates of persons age 65+ in 1985 to records for the same individuals in U.S. censuses of 1900, 1910, and 1920 and to records of the Social Security Administration. The ages at death reported on death certificates are too young on average. Errors are greater for women than for men. Despite systematic underreporting of age at death, too many deaths are registered at ages 95+. This excess reflects an age distribution of deaths that declines steeply with age, so that the base for upward transfers into an age category is much larger than the base for transfers downward and out. When corrected ages at death are used to estimate age-specific death rates, African-American mortality rates increase substantially above age 85 and the racial “crossover” in mortality disappears. Uncertainty about white rates at ages 95+, however, prevents a decisive racial comparison at the very oldest ages.     

Charles horton Cooley and the futuristic vision

Charles Cooley, on the eastern edge of the Chicago School, did not contribute directly to the literature of the future. Nonetheless, his basic concepts are guideposts to the social implications of futuristic technology, in this study, limned by Arthur C. Clarke. The question remains, however, whether Cooley's naturalistic bias can adequately address the moral dimensions of the envisioned future.     

From Colonialism to Ultranationalism: History and Development of Career Counseling in Malaysia

This article documents the development of career counseling in Malaysia from 1957—when the British colonizers departed—to 2000. Although counseling, psychology, and psychiatry had their roots in mental health and medical environments, career counseling had its origins in the system of schooling and has now spread widely to business and industry. This article presents information on the historic and economic context of the development of career counseling, an exploration of the educational system from which career counseling was born, the cultural elements that have formed career counseling in the Malaysian context, and the application of M. Pope's (1995, 2000) stage development model to the development of career counseling in the Malaysian context.     

Mediation of youth conflict: A multi-system perspective

The use of mediation and conflict resolution skills for youth in a variety of settings has grown extensively during the past decade. Rather than remain in a largely passive role as adults attempt to solve their problems, youth mediation programs can empower young people to be actively involved in resolving conflicts they are faced with. This article examines the application of mediation techniques in a variety of systems, including: the family; the school; the neighborhood; and the juvenile justice system. A basic definition of mediation, along with its strengths and limitations is presented. Key characteristics of youth mediation programs from a number of different states are identified. Finally, several critical issues facing the field of youth development and mediation are identified and discussed. These issues include: imbalance of power and negotiating skills; coercive versus voluntary participation; and, net-widening/labelling.     

Simplifying Second‐order Belief Attribution: What Facilitates Children’s Performance on Measures of Conceptual Understanding?

This study investigated how 4‐ to 7‐year‐old children’s second‐order belief attribution might be facilitated by either reducing information processing or varying the sequence of task questions. In Experiment 1, compared with Perner and Wimmer’s (1985 ) original second‐order false‐belief task, a new task with reduced information‐processing demands promoted better second‐order reasoning. In Experiment 2, half the stories included a second‐order ignorance question before a second‐order belief question. The ignorance question promoted second‐order belief understanding, superseding the improvement induced by lowered processing demands. Together, the findings suggest that second‐order belief performance can be facilitated if children focus on the concept of ignorance during the sequence of questioning.     

Critiques of Narrative Therapy: A Personal Response

This paper responds to some of the specific and the generalised challenges to narrative therapy from therapists of other persuasions. It discusses the long history of model rivalry and locates this debate in that process. It also takes up specific concerns of isolationism, desertion, language, sectarianism, colonialism and ethical superiority. Throughout, I attempt to identify my thinking in relation to the criticisms, and to write transparently about why I understand things in the way I do. This is not a neutral paper — I see myself as a narrative therapist.