Medicalized mothering: experiences with breastfeeding in Canada and Norway

This paper explores infant feeding practices and experiences of mothers in Canada and Norway, two countries where breastfeeding rates are relatively high. Based on interviews with 33 Canadian mothers and 27 Norwegian mothers, we also examine how mothers feel, think and talk about their infant feeding decisions and experiences, and examine similarities and divergences across their stories. Our findings reveal that infant feeding is very much organized according to the logic of the broader medical discourse, a finding which lends support to arguments that contemporary parenthood is characterized by a process of increasing medicalization. Our findings also reveal the existence of a broader culture of pressure, competition, judgement and surveillance regarding breastfeeding, suggesting that the high breastfeeding rates in these two countries are not merely a result of favourable structural conditions, but also of strong cultural expectations towards breastfeeding. We discuss our findings in connection with the broader argument that medical discourses and health professionals are becoming the primary authorities and moral gatekeepers of contemporary parenthood.     

Saying the ‘F word … in the nicest possible way’: augmentative communication and discourses of disability

This paper examines a case study of a severely physically disabled man, Ralph, in terms of his interaction with his carers. He communicates using various systems of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC, such as symbol boards and high-tech devices), the vocabulary for which has mostly been selected for him by others. The starting point of the paper is the assumption that disabled people have traditionally held a disempowered position in society (relative to non-disabled people), and the question asked is to what extent is Ralph further disempowered by the limited vocabulary available to him in his AAC systems, and in the way others interact with him. The paper draws on the work of Bourdieu, according to whom ‘Language is not only an instrument of communication or even of knowledge, but also an instrument of power’ (1977, 648). I consider the tensions between the drive towards the empowerment of disabled individuals, as exemplified by the provision of AAC, and opposition to allowing access to certain types of vocabulary (especially expletives such as ‘the F word’), unless it is expressed in ‘the nicest possible way’.     

A Comparison of Visual Familiarization and Object‐Examining Measures of Categorization in 9‐Month‐Old Infants

Three studies were conducted to determine whether differential patterns of categorization observed in studies using visual familiarization and object‐examining measures hold up as procedural confounds are eliminated. In Experiment 1, we attempted as direct a comparison as possible between visual and object‐examining measures of categorization. Consistent with previous reports, 9‐month‐old infants distinguished a basic‐level contrast (dog–horse) in the visual task, but not in the examining task. Experiment 2 was designed to reduce levels of nonexploratory activity in an examining task; 9‐month‐olds again failed to distinguish categories of dogs and horses. In Experiment 3, we adopted a paired‐comparison test format in the object‐examining task. Infants did display a novel category preference under paired testing conditions. The results suggest that the different patterns of categorization often seen in looking and touching tasks are a reflection, not of different categorization processes, but of the differential sensitivity of the tasks.     

Concurrent and Across Time Prediction of Young Adolescents' Social Functioning: The Role of Emotionality and Regulation

The social functioning of 64 young adolescents (10‐ to 12‐year olds) was examined in relation to negative emotionality and regulation during early adolescence, as well as two, four, and six years earlier. Young adolescents who were viewed as relatively high in social functioning (i.e., high teacher‐rated school social competence; low mother‐ or father‐rated problem behavior) were generally viewed as relatively low on negative emotionality and high on regulatory abilities during early adolescence as well as two, four, and six years earlier. Furthermore, negative emotionality and regulation during early adolescence, and in some cases at previous time periods, contributed unique variance to the prediction of social functioning during early adolescence. Young adolescents who were consistently low in social functioning across time were higher on negative emotionality and lower on regulation than were young adolescents who were consistently high on social functioning over time.     

What Happened on Ruby Ridge: Terrorism or Tyranny?

In the 1992 Ruby Ridge, Idaho, incident during which U.S. Marshal William Degan and Sammy and Vicki Weaver were killed, law enforcement and the Weavers socially constructed each other's roles. We focus on how the framing of what happened on Ruby Ridge changed. Drawing on Gamson's (1968) discussion of law enforcement strategies, we suggest that certain federal agencies were challenged about the justness of their actions. The Weavers, white separatists, and others tried to alter the dominant frame of the federal government from a legitimating one to that of unjust authority. To counter that, investigations by the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism and the Department of Justice portrayed certain agents as incompetent rather than unjust. Various federal agencies “yielded ground” by recognizing mistakes, making payments to the Weavers and Kevin Harris, and charging one official and temporarily suspending others, but they maintained the legitimacy frame.     

The use and effectiveness of top executive dismissal

We provide a systematic assessment of the empirical evidence on the use and effectiveness of top executive dismissal as a governance and performance improvement mechanism. Our results suggest that poor individual and firm performance significantly increase the likelihood of executive dismissal. A strong power base might help under-performing top executives to extend their tenure in office, but effective ownership and governance structures can provide a counterweight to such entrenchment behaviors. However, our review casts doubt on the effectiveness of top executive dismissal as a means to enhance future firm performance: employing meta-analytical techniques we show that, although the dismissal announcement leads to positive abnormal returns, it has no significant effect on long-term measures of firm performance. On the basis of our findings, we develop a conceptual model of the possible antecedents and consequences of top executive dismissal. We derive implications for boards involved in situations of executive dismissal and for the successors of dismissed executives, and we provide directions for future leadership research on executive dismissal.     

What makes leadership,leadership? Using self-expansion theory to integrate traditional and contemporary approaches

Numerous traditional theories and paradigms of leadership purport to describe what leadership is. It is difficult to reconcile these traditional approaches, however, if each one alone, independent of the others, is viewed as capturing the actual identity of leadership. In this article, we take an integrative view of traditional approaches to leadership. To do so, we first identify some underlying ideas common to them. Next, we explain how these underlying ideas lead us to a fundamental theory about close relationships—that is, self-expansion theory, which refers to a psychological process in which an individual incorporates another into the self (Aron & Aron, 1986). We then review the traditional leadership theories to explore whether these theories may be linked through self-expansion theory and whether self-expansion may help to explain why boundary conditions have been discovered for all of them. In this process, we explore whether traditional approaches to leadership might also be linked with more contemporary approaches through self-expansion theory. Finally, we discuss the implications for future research and professional practice of the integration of traditional approaches to leadership.     

Assessing Observer Effects on the Fidelity of Implementation of Functional Analysis Procedures

Instructing and training others to implement functional analysis (FA) procedures can be a cumbersome and time-consuming task. Students and practitioners are required to learn all of the various components to establish conditions and analyze results while also learning to conduct the sessions. The current study assessed the fidelity of individuals implementing FA conditions after observing and rating the fidelity of videos models, using a multiple-baseline design across FA conditions. Video models of each condition were provided throughout; however, participants were only asked to provide fidelity ratings for one video. Results demonstrated the intervention was successful in increasing participant performance above baseline levels for 16 of 17 participants, with 7 participants requiring an additional intervention in which they were asked to observe their own performance. Further research should evaluate the degree to which this procedure may effectively prepare individuals working with non-confederate children and carry over to other responses and settings.     

Legacy of the Vocational Bureau of Cincinnati: Research Advances Social Justice

The author discusses the lives of Helen Bradford Thompson Woolley and M. Edith Campbell, who together shaped the legacy of the Vocational Bureau of Cincinnati. Using scientific research in controlled experimental settings allowed Woolley and Campbell to legitimize their social and vocational reform agendas and influence powerful government, school, and social service leaders. By 1921, they created 1 of the most progressive vocational programs in the country, delivering career counseling, vocational guidance and placement, physical and psychological testing, educational measurement and testing, protection and services for the physically and mentally handicapped, preventative measures for juvenile delinquency, and scholarships for students.