第二语言词汇习得刍议

从语言对比的角度来研究第二语言习得词汇量的问题,词汇习得策略的差异问题,并讨论了认知科学的最新发展对于词汇习得的重大促进意义,最后指出词汇习得研究中一些亟待深入研究的问题。     

Union organizing effort and success in the U.S., 1948–2004

While union density in the public sector has increased in recent decades, private sector union density in the U.S. has declined steadily since the mid-1950s. Scholars have evoked a variety of explanations to account for the decline in union membership, but substantially less attention has been devoted to understanding the contribution of the union organizing process as governed by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In this paper, we focus on two aspects of this process: union organizing effort (the effort to establish union representation elections to organize non-unionized workers) and union organizing success (success in winning union representation elections). Using annual time series data for the U.S. from 1948 to 2004, we show that there has been a long-term decline in both union organizing effort and union organizing success, which likely contributes to declining union density. We focus on three explanations for these changes: the political–legal environment for unions, deindustrialization and globalization, and employer opposition to unionization efforts. We find that each of these factors contributes to organizing effort and success and conclude with a discussion of the implications of this research for future mobilization efforts.     

Adolescents’ perception of peer groups: Psychological,behavioral, and relational determinants

Adolescents’ social cognitive understanding of their social world is often inaccurate and biased. Focusing on peer groups, this study examines how adolescents’ psychological, behavioral, and relational characteristics influence the extent to which they accurately identify their own and others’ peer groups. Analyses were conducted with a sample of 1481 seventh- and tenth-grade Chinese students who are embedded with 346 peer groups. Overall, females and older students had more accurate perceptions. In addition, lower self-esteem, higher indegree centrality, and lower betweenness centrality in the friendship network predicted more accurate perception of one’s own groups, whereas higher academic performance and lower betweenness centrality in the friendship network predicted more accurate perception of others’ groups. Implications for understanding the connection between adolescents’ psychological and behavioral traits, social relationships, and social cognition are discussed.     

Explaining with Intentional Omissions

Determining the human activity that social processes consist in is a central task for the philosophy of the social sciences. This paper asks: which conception of agency arising from contemporary action theory is the most suitable for social science explanation? It is argued that a movement-centered, Davidsonian picture of agency is not suitable for explaining certain social processes such as strikes and boycotts because, instead of intentional bodily movements, they are explained by the intentional omissions of agents. I propose that instead of intentional bodily movements, social processes are better explained by phenomena in which an agent is taking an active relation both to her mental or bodily processes as well as to what is happening around her. Thus, to fully explain social processes, a comprehensive theory of agency that can account for intentional actions and intentional omissions and a conception of agency that includes both materialist and volitionalist aspects is needed.     

维特根斯坦“语言游戏”观为指导的篇章理解模型探讨及其应用

“语言游戏”这个概念由维特根斯坦提出,是维特根斯坦后期哲学中的一个核心概念,它强调了语言活动的意义,旨在通过语言的使用过程研究语言。他的根本主张是不要把语言看作孤立静止的描述符号,而要看作体现生活的动态人类活动。根据维特根斯坦的“语言游戏”观,篇章理解应该被视作一种建设性和持续性的活动,而决不仅仅是将篇章所包含的信息传输进听者大脑中的简单过程。篇章理解是根据内容、观点和场景的种种关系对接收到的篇章作出系统阐释的过程。文章结合认知语境有关理论,探讨了以“语言游戏”观为指导的篇章理解模型。在应用部分,作者进行了实例分析并提出了教学对策,以供借鉴。     

Mothers' work patterns and Children's cognitive achievement: Evidence from the India Human Development survey

As female labor force participation increases globally, the relationship between maternal employment and children's development remains unclear. Using data from the India Human Development Survey (2005), we investigate the link between maternal employment and children's arithmetic and reading achievement. We develop a work pattern typology that goes beyond standard measures of employment and captures work intensity and its compatibility with child-rearing in a transitional economy. We find that the relationship between maternal employment and children's outcomes is not unidimensional. For example, children of self-employed mothers are not disadvantaged compared to those with stay-at-home mothers, but maternal employment in salaried jobs or wage work outside the home is negatively associated with cognitive skills in children. However, this negative association is reversed at higher levels of maternal education, suggesting greater access to resources and flexibility associated with better jobs mitigate the negative aspects of maternal employment posed by time constraints. Additionally, maternal employment is associated with maternal involvement in schoolwork and financial investment in academic activities, providing evidence that both time and resources devoted to children's education are significant.     

Social identity and alcohol in young adolescence: the perceived difference between youthful and adult drinking

This paper examines the evolving social identities of young adolescents in regard to alcohol and drinking culture in Norway. Detailed analysis of 29 focus group interviews and 32 individual interviews with 12–13-year-olds reveal a thorough negative attitude towards alcohol, especially when enjoyed by young people. Young adolescents found young people to be too irresponsible and immature to drink, while adults were portrayed as capable of enjoying alcohol without losing control or experiencing other negative effects. Through symbolic boundary work, they distanced themselves from adolescents who drank. The young adolescents rejected the idea that drinking alcohol was a sign of maturity; instead, they exhibited maturity by distancing themselves from drunk adolescents. We discuss how these findings reflect the participants’ socio-cognitive development, and how symbolic boundaries are often drawn against those closest in social distance. We conclude that boundaries between ‘adolescents’ and ‘adults’ are fundamental when understanding emerging adolescent social identities, especially when it comes to drinking and drinking culture.     

Sexual Beliefs and Sexual Functioning: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Distraction

Dysfunctional sexual beliefs are vulnerability factors for sexual dysfunction. This cross-sectional study aimed to test the mediating role of cognitive distraction on the relationship between dysfunctional sexual beliefs about sexual functioning shared by men and women and sexual function. The authors used a sample of 421 cisgender heterosexual participants involved in a monogamous relationship. The hypothesized mediation model was tested using a bootstrapped cross product of coefficients approach. Results showed a significant negative, indirect effect between dysfunctional sexual beliefs and women's sexual function through cognitive distraction. The discussion of this study highlights the importance of cognitive factors in sexual functioning.     

情感：判断抑或显像——对纳斯鲍姆认知主义情感论的再审视

就伦理思想而言,纳斯鲍姆既是亚里士多德非科学的实践慎思观的拥护者,也是斯多亚主义治疗学的伦理学的倡导者。依据亚里士多德实践慎思观,显像是成全知觉判断的关键因素。然而,对灵魂治疗的关切使得斯多亚主义伦理学更青睐情感的判断论。为提供关于情感的统一说明,纳斯鲍姆有意淡化“判断”与“显像”的差异：由于一切情感判断都蕴含显像,因而本质上说,情感就是一种判断。从亚里士多德显像论以及当代心理治疗实践看,接受这种统一说明或将面临过分简化的危险,因为情感的判断论和显像论各自道出情感的复杂面向。纳斯鲍姆为情感提供统一说明的努力可能归于失败,构成情感的必要因素不是判断而是显像。