Developmental Interactions Research Articles

Teacher’s service-dominant orientation: scale development and validation

ABSTRACT The literature suggests that the co-creation of higher education value, from the perspective of the service-dominant logic (SDL), begins in the teaching-learning process, and the results of this process shape the entire ecosystem of higher education value for economic and social development. From this perspective, it is important to identify strategic tools that foster the co-creation of services and value during the teaching-learning process. As a contribution, this article presents the first proposal for a scale to measure teachers’ service-dominant orientation (SDO) in higher education. This proposal was operationalised using a literature review and qualitative and quantitative empirical approaches involving six stages and supported by three studies. Conceptualised as a portfolio of interaction capabilities that teachers can strategically develop to foster co-creation in higher education, the Teacher S-D Orientation scale is presented, made up of five capacities: individual interactions (four items), relational interactions (four items), ethical interactions (three items), empowered interactions (three items) and developmental interactions (four items). Considering that from the SDL perspective, the strength of the student-teacher relationship is a decisive factor in co-creation during the teaching-learning process, the external validation of the SDO scale was ensured, with the results suggesting that the teacher’s SDO has a significant impact on the relationship quality in higher education. The scale validation has implications for both marketing and educational literature. The article concludes with recommendations for teachers and management of higher education institutions.

Implementation of a Teacher’s health-preserving Competence in the Process of Adaptive and Developmental interaction between Subjects of Education

The article discusses the issue of implementing the health-preserving competence of a teacher at the present stage of modernization of education in Russia. A pedagogical model for the implementation of the health-preserving competence of a teacher is presented. The possibility of a variable part of educational programs through the introduction of a software and technological complex for preparing teachers for activities to improve the adaptive and developmental potential of students. The purpose of this article is to present pedagogical conditions developed and tested on the basis of experimental data and a model for the implementation of a teacher’s health-preserving competence. Methodology. One of the central methodological problems discussed in the article is the identification of the relationship between the readiness of teachers for health-preserving activities and the ability to implement the health-preserving competence of a teacher in the process of adaptive and developmental interaction of subjects of education in class and extracurricular activities. Research results. Materials are described that show that as a result of the combined pedagogical, socio-pedagogical, psychological-pedagogical, medical-physiological-pedagogical interaction of subjects of education, the psychological-pedagogical, didactic and information-technological health-preserving competencies. In conclusion, it is concluded that the implementation of a teacher’s health-preserving competence should be considered as a process of purposeful and consistent adaptive and developmental interaction between subjects of education, promoting the build-up of information technology, psychological, pedagogical and didactic health-preserving pedagogical competencies.

Педагогическая модель совершенствования здоровьесберегающей компетентности педагога основного общего образования

Innovative approaches improve the quality of modern education, especially when they develop personality and contribute to the psychological and physiological health of students and teachers. The authors modeled and described a health-saving competence of a school teacher. The model consists of several components and covers targets, content, procedures, and assessment. The target block describes the goals, objectives, principles, and approaches to improving the health-saving competence of a school teacher in the process of adaptive and developmental interaction between various subjects of school education. The content block includes a set of education events aimed at solving academic, educational, developmental, social, and recreational tasks in class and during extracurricular activities. The procedural block reflects the types and orientation of adaptive and developmental interaction between subjects of school education. It corrects psychological, pedagogical, and health-saving support for students of primary and secondary schools, depending on their age, behavioral patterns, functional capabilities, and socio-pedagogical environment. The assessment block features psychological, pedagogical, didactic, and information technologies that develop health-saving competence in a school teacher. The theory was supported by an ascertaining and formative experiment based on the abovementioned pedagogical model.

Curiosity to Question: Tracing productive engagement in an interdisciplinary course-based research experience

ABSTRACT Background Course-based research experiences (CBREs) are highly valued for science learning and research. Most are discipline-centered, but there is a great deal of interest in developing them to promote interdisciplinarity. Yet, we have much to learn about how CBREs work, and even more to learn about how disciplinary diversity operates as an element of design to promote learning and research. Method This mixed methods case study triangulates data on student experience, research networks, research artifacts and fieldnotes from participant observation to understand how disciplinary diversity factors into productive engagement for learning and research in an interdisciplinary course-based research experience (I-CBRE). Findings A common boundary object (scientific paper) mediated developmental interactions among individuals both within and beyond the course. The boundary object also facilitated the productive engagement of students as instrumental actors in broader interdisciplinary research networks. Contribution This study shows how an “object tracing” approach can be used to examine productivity in disciplinarily diverse scientific contexts, and reveals some of the distinctly syncretic moves that participants deploy to make progress as learners and researchers. Extending work by Engel and Conant, the study emphasizes the importance of designing for “productive syncretic engagement” in research experiences characterized disciplinary diversity.

Making developmental sense of the senses, their origin and function.

The primary senses-touch, taste, sight, smell, and hearing-connect animals with their environments and with one another. Aside from the eyes, the primary sense organs of vertebrates and the peripheral sensory pathways that relay their inputs arise from two transient stem cell populations: the neural crest and the cranial placodes. In this chapter we consider the senses from historical and cultural perspectives, and discuss the senses as biological faculties. We begin with the embryonic origin of the neural crest and cranial placodes from within the neural plate border of the ectodermal germ layer. Then, we describe the major chemical (i.e. olfactory and gustatory) and mechanical (i.e. vestibulo-auditory and somatosensory) senses, with an emphasis on the developmental interactions between neural crest and cranial placodes that shape their structures and functions.

Genome-Wide Network Analysis of Above- and Below-Ground Co-growth in Populus euphratica.

Tree growth is the consequence of developmental interactions between above- and below-ground compartments. However, a comprehensive view of the genetic architecture of growth as a cohesive whole is poorly understood. We propose a systems biology approach for mapping growth trajectories in genome-wide association studies viewing growth as a complex (phenotypic) system in which above- and below-ground components (or traits) interact with each other to mediate systems behavior. We further assume that trait-trait interactions are controlled by a genetic system composed of many different interactive genes and integrate the Lotka-Volterra predator-prey model to dissect phenotypic and genetic systems into pleiotropic and epistatic interaction components by which the detailed genetic mechanism of above- and below-ground co-growth can be charted. We apply the approach to analyze linkage mapping data of Populus euphratica, which is the only tree species that can grow in the desert, and characterize several loci that govern how above- and below-ground growth is cooperated or competed over development. We reconstruct multilayer and multiplex genetic interactome networks for the developmental trajectories of each trait and their developmental covariation. Many significant loci and epistatic effects detected can be annotated to candidate genes for growth and developmental processes. The results from our model may potentially be useful for marker-assisted selection and genetic editing in applied tree breeding programs. The model provides a general tool to characterize a complete picture of pleiotropic and epistatic genetic architecture in growth traits in forest trees and any other organisms.

Developmental interactions between peer victimization and depressive symptoms in adolescents: A latent change score analysis.

Peer victimization and depressive symptoms are highly relevant risks during adolescence. Understanding the dynamic patterns of interactions between peer victimization and depressive symptoms as well as gender differences in these variables can improve intervention strategies for adolescents navigating this critical transition period. In the present study, a large sample of Chinese adolescents reported peer victimization and depressive symptoms in four survey waves at six-month intervals. A total of 2534 adolescents (51.9% boys, M = 12.98 ± 0.60 years) were included in the latent change score (LCS) analysis. The results supported the reciprocal effects model obtained in the full sample. Changes in peer victimization were influenced by prior changes in depressive symptoms over time, and changes in depressive symptoms were influenced by prior levels of peer victimization. There were also gender differences, with boys exhibiting depressive symptom-driven effects on peer victimization, while girls exhibiting peer victimization-induced depressive symptoms. The dynamic relationships between peer victimization and depressive symptoms that promote and constrain each other in adolescents are elucidated in this study. Differentiating effects on boys and girls is crucial for enhancing the effectiveness of practical interventions.

Valuing in Songwriting

Valuing is a sub task of the creative process where the agent of creativity evaluates the possibles afforded to them by the domain and field. To make such evaluations the agent must apply their domain knowledge and an internalised system of the field . This paper explores how the songwriter, as agent, constructs a criterion of appropriateness based on such knowledge through which to assess their creative possibilities.
 These criteria conceived by the songwriter operates as a competent yet fallible audience. The valuing process is progressive, moving from the imagined audience of the songwriting agent to be refined by developmental interactions with songwriting, production and record label teams. We may also transfer such a criterion to the audience, as a criterion of effectiveness, in which the chosen ideas are evaluated.

A novel approach to measuring the developmental interactions between working memory and inhibitory control in young children

This pre-registered study examined the development of working memory and inhibitory control in a sample of 144 children aged between 3 and 6 years. Two paradigms – one a version of a spatial conflict task, the other a combined continuous performance test and go/no-go task – were adapted to allow the orthogonal manipulation of working memory and inhibitory demands. This allowed for the simultaneous measurement of these functions within each paradigm, removing concerns of task-specific variance and testing an interactive model of executive function that assumes that working memory and inhibition compete for a shared pool of executive resources. In addition, latent working memory and inhibition variables extracted from the tasks were correlated with parental reports of participants’ temperament, including effortful control. The novel experimental tasks successfully and reliably captured developmental and individual differences in working memory and inhibitory control. However, these factors did not interact with one another in an over-additive fashion or correlate meaningfully with parental ratings of effortful control. These findings support the separability of executive functions in this age range while raising important questions about how best to measure the development of executive functioning among young children.

Implementation of the Cardiac Inpatient Neurodevelopmental Care Optimization (CINCO) programme: an interdisciplinary, generalisable approach to inpatient neurodevelopmental care.

Children with CHD are at risk for neurodevelopmental delays, and length of hospitalisation is a predictor of poorer long-term outcomes. Multiple aspects of hospitalisation impact neurodevelopment, including sleep interruptions, limited holding, and reduced developmental stimulation. We aimed to address modifiable factors by creating and implementing an interdisciplinary inpatient neurodevelopmental care programme in our Heart Institute. In this quality improvement study, we developed an empirically supported approach to neurodevelopmental care across the continuum of hospitalisation for patients with CHD using three plan-do-study-act cycles. With input from multi-level stakeholders including parents/caregivers, we co-designed interventions that comprised the Cardiac Inpatient Neurodevelopmental Care Optimization (CINCO) programme. These included medical/nursing orders for developmental care practices, developmental kits for patients, bedside developmental plans, caregiver education and support, developmental care rounds, and a specialised volunteer programme. We obtained data from the electronic health record for patients aged 0-2 years admitted for at least 7 days to track implementation. There were 619 admissions in 18 months. Utilisation of CINCO interventions increased over time, particularly for the medical/nursing orders and caregiver handouts. The volunteer programme launch was delayed but grew rapidly and within six months, provided over 500 hours of developmental interaction with patients. We created and implemented a low-cost programme that systematised and expanded upon existing neurodevelopmental care practices in the cardiac inpatient units. Feasibility was demonstrated through increasing implementation rates over time. Key takeaways include the importance of multi-level stakeholder buy-in and embedding processes in existing clinical workflows.

Growth Regulation in the Larvae of the Lepidopteran Pieris brassicae: A Field Study.

Size and shape are important determinants of fitness in most living beings. Accordingly, the capacity of the organism to regulate size and shape during growth, containing the effects of developmental disturbances of different origin, is considered a key feature of the developmental system. In a recent study, through a geometric morphometric analysis on a laboratory-reared sample of the lepidopteran Pieris brassicae, we found evidence of regulatory mechanisms able to restrain size and shape variation, including bilateral fluctuating asymmetry, during larval development. However, the efficacy of the regulatory mechanism under greater environmental variation remains to be explored. Here, based on a field-reared sample of the same species, by adopting identical measurements of size and shape variation, we found that the regulatory mechanisms for containing the effects of developmental disturbances during larval growth in P. brassicae are also effective under more natural environmental conditions. This study may contribute to better characterization of the mechanisms of developmental stability and canalization and their combined effects in the developmental interactions between the organism and its environment.

Scaffolding individuality: coordination, cooperation, collaboration and community.

Processes of evolutionary transition (ET), becoming part of a new reproducing collective while losing the capacity of independent reproduction, seem difficult to track without circularity, since their features-units of selection, individuality, inheritance at multiple levels (MLS1, MLS2)-are products of one process. We describe ET in a non-circular way, noting kinds of interactions among community members necessary for such major transitions that are not instances of those same interactions within community members. Reproducing 'systems' tend to hybridize with environmental components, employing eco-devo scaffolding interactions forming communities. Communities are developmentally scaffolded systems of diverse members engaged in heterogeneous interactions. They may become individuals in their own right with the potential to evolve an inheritance system at the emergent community level. We argue for the explanatory benefits of treating 'individuality' as a special case of 'collectivity'. We characterize an idealized sequence of collective processes-coordination, cooperation and collaboration (3Cs)-which scaffolds transitions to new forms of collective individuality: communities. Hominid evolution and learning draw attention to developmental interactions driving both dimensions of ET: new 'levels of individuality' and inherited 'information systems'. Here, we outline a theoretical perspective that we suggest applies across a wide range of cases and scenarios. This article is part of the theme issue 'Human socio-cultural evolution in light of evolutionary transitions'.

The Cellular Immunological Responses and Developmental Differences between Two Hosts Parasitized by Asecodes hispinarum.

This study aims to investigate the developmental interactions of Asecodes hispinarum Bouček on Brontispa longissima Gestro and Octodonta nipae Maulik, as well as the cellular immune responses of B. longissima and O. nipae larvae in response to parasitism by A. hispinarum, with the hope of determining the reason for the difference in larval breeding of A. hispinarum in B. longissima and O. nipae. The effects of parasitism by A. hispinarum on the larval development, hemocyte count, and proportion of the hemocyte composition of the two hosts were carried out through selective assay and non-selective assay using statistical analysis and anatomical imaging. There was no significant difference in parasitic selection for A. hispinarum on the larvae of these two beetles; however, more eggs were laid to B. longissima larvae than to O. nipae larvae after parasitism by A. hispinarum. The eggs of A. hispinarum were able to grow and develop normally inside the larvae of B. longissima, and the parasitism caused the larvae of B. longissima become rigid within 7 d, with a high larval mortality rate of 98.88%. In contrast, the eggs of A. hispinarum were not able to develop normally inside the O. nipae larvae, with a high encapsulation rate of 99.05%. In addition, the parasitism by A. hispinarum caused a 15.31% mortality rate in O. nipae larvae and prolonged the larval stage by 5 d and the pupal stage by 1 d. The number of hemocytes during the 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h of the four instars from O. nipae larvae was 6.08 times higher than from B. longissima larvae of the same age. After 24 h of being parasitized by A. hispinarum, the total number of hemocytes and granulocyte proportion of B. longissima larvae increased significantly. However, the total number of hemocytes and plasmatocyte proportion of O. nipae increased significantly after 24, 72, and 96 h, and the proportion of granulocytes increased significantly after 12 h post-parasitism. The results in the present study indicated that A. hispinarum was unable to successfully reproduce offspring in O. nipae, but its spawning behavior had an adverse effect on the larval development of its host. In addition, the adequate number of hemocytes and more pronounced changes in the hemocyte count and hemocyte composition ratio in the larvae after parasitization may be important factors for the successful encapsulation in O. nipae larvae.

Developmental pattern of association fibers and their interaction with associated cortical microstructures in 0–5-month-old infants

Association fibers connect the cortical regions and experience rapid development involving myelination and axonal growth during infancy. Yet, the spatiotemporal patterns of microstructural changes along these tracts, as well as the developmental interaction between the white matter (WM) tracts and the cortical gray matter (cGM) connected to them, are mostly unknown during infancy. In this study, we performed a diffusion MRI-based tractography and microstructure study in a cohort of 89 healthy preterm-born infants with gestational age at birth between 28.1∼36.4 weeks and postmenstrual age at scan between 39.9∼59.9 weeks. Results revealed that several C-shaped fibers, such as the arcuate fasciculus, cingulum, and uncinate fasciculus, demonstrated symmetrical along-tract profiles; and the horizontally oriented running fibers, including the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and the inferior longitudinal fasciculus, demonstrated an anterior-posterior developmental gradient. This study characterized the along-tract profiles using fixel-based analysis and revealed that the fiber cross-section (FC) of all five association fibers demonstrated a fluctuating increase with age, while the fiber density (FD) monotonically increase with age. NODDI was utilized to analyze the microstructural development of cGM and indicated cGM connected to the anterior end of the association fibers developed faster than that of the posterior end during 0–5 months. Notably, a mediation analysis was used to explore the relation between the development of WM and associated cGM, and demonstrated a partial mediation effect of FD in WM on the development of intracellular volume (ICV) in cGM and a full mediation effect of ICV on the growth of FD in most fibers, suggesting a predominant mediation of cGM on the WM development. Furthermore, for assessing whether those results were biased by prematurity, we compared preterm- and term-born neonates with matched scan age, gender, and multiple births from the developing human connectome project (dHCP) dataset to assess the effect of preterm-birth, and the results indicated a similar developmental pattern of the association fibers and their attached cGM. These findings presented a comprehensive picture of the major association fibers during early infancy and deciphered the developmental interaction between WM and cGM in this period.

Innovative Technologies in Ensuring the Development of a modern Educational Institution

The article presents a theoretical and methodological analysis of pedagogical innovation; the importance of innovative technologies in ensuring the development of a modern educational institution is revealed; features of innovative technologies in the educational process of the educational institution are revealed; the object and subject of pedagogical innovation are defined; the stages of the innovative educational process are characterized.
 An analysis of the ideas of innovation in the field of education in modern Ukraine revealed the importance of modern innovative technologies in ensuring the development of educational institutions, generalized approaches to understanding their essence, clarifying the essential features of educational innovations, and research of the main factors of innovation in education in modern Ukraine.
 It is determined that pedagogical innovation reveals the deep processes of creation, development, and implementation of new in education, which is characterized by features associated with the participants in this process, the subjects of developmental interaction

Psychological efficiency of organizational technology of modular developmental interaction in the space of HEI

n the article modular-developmental interaction is considered as an integral attributive core of the defended innovative educational model, marked by the original organizational climate of the institution, by psychosocial space of parity educational cooperation, psycho-artistic technologies of real educational interaction and problem-dialogue techniques of a full-fledged educational process implementation. It appears as a scientifically designed, psycho-artistically embodied and organization-technologically carried out an innovative-psychological co-activity of participants in the educational process, aimed at obtaining, processing, transforming and self-creating of common tangible or intangible (process, state, image, etc.) object of cognition-construction according to personal tasks of vitacultural development of each participant as a subject, personality, individuality and universum. It is empirically argued that the innovative model of cyclical development of modular-developmental interaction between participants in the educational process of modern HEI (higher educational institution) is much more effective than the classical-academic system of education. In particular, the introduction of experimental variables in three universities of Ukraine (West Ukrainian National University, Odessa National University named after I.I. Mechnikov, Poltava National Pedagogical University named after V.G. Korolenko) made it possible to increase the overall effectiveness of lessons (trainings) (expert-psychological methodic by A.V. Furman), led to a statistically significant increase in intellectual, emotion-volitional, communicative indicators of experimental groups representatives (it had been diagnosed with 16-factor personality questionnaire by R. Kettel), caused constructive changes of typical models and strategies of personality interaction (it had been identified by the methodic of diagnosing interpersonal relationships by T. Liri, K. Thomas’ test “Types of behavior in a conflict”), and also provided the step-by-step development of academic groups as harmonized student groups (modified sociometry of J. Moreno). As a result, the idea of psychological determinants of the projective transition of domestic higher education from directive-extensive to psychologically intensive models of youth socialization on the basis of parity was significantly expanded and the form-content advantages of the system of modular-developmental learning by A.V. Furman were clarified, which provides a socio-culturally mediated space of continuous development-dialogical interaction between the subjects of the educational process.

A dysmorphic mouse model reveals developmental interactions of chondrocranium and dermatocranium.

The cranial endo and dermal skeletons, which comprise the vertebrate skull, evolved independently over 470 million years ago and form separately during embryogenesis. In mammals, much of the cartilaginous chondrocranium is transient, undergoing endochondral ossification or disappearing, so its role in skull morphogenesis is not well studied and it remains an enigmatic structure. We provide complete 3D reconstructions of the laboratory mouse chondrocranium from embryonic day (E) 13.5 through E17.5 using a novel methodology of uncertainty-guided segmentation of phosphotungstic enhanced 3D micro-computed tomography images with sparse annotation. We evaluate the embryonic mouse chondrocranium and dermatocranium in 3D, and delineate the effects of a Fgfr2 variant on embryonic chondrocranial cartilages and on their association with forming dermal bones using the Fgfr2cC342Y/+ Crouzon syndrome mouse. We show that the dermatocranium develops outside of and in shapes that conform to the chondrocranium. Results reveal direct effects of the Fgfr2 variant on embryonic cartilage, on chondrocranium morphology, and on the association between chondrocranium and dermatocranium development. Histologically, we observe a trend of relatively more chondrocytes, larger chondrocytes, and/or more matrix in the Fgfr2cC342Y/+ embryos at all timepoints before the chondrocranium begins to disintegrate at E16.5. The chondrocrania and forming dermatocrania of Fgfr2cC342Y/+ embryos are relatively large, but a contrasting trend begins at E16.5 and continues into early postnatal (P0 and P2) timepoints, with the skulls of older Fgfr2cC342Y/+ mice reduced in most dimensions compared to Fgfr2c+/+ littermates. Our findings have implications for the study and treatment of human craniofacial disease, for understanding the impact of chondrocranial morphology on skull growth, and potentially on the evolution of skull morphology.

The association between peer-victimisation and structural and functional brain outcomes: A systematic review.

Peer adversity and aggression are common experiences in childhood and adolescence which lead to poor mental health outcomes. To date, there has been no review conducted on the neurobiological changes associated with relational peer-victimisation, bullying and cyberbullying. This systematic review assessed structural and functional brain changes associated with peer-victimisation, bullying, and cyberbullying from 1 January 2000 to April 2021. A systematic search of Psychoinfo, Pubmed, and Scopus was performed independently by two reviewers using predefined criteria. Twenty-six studies met the selection criteria and were considered for review. The data collected shows altered brain activation of regions implicated in processing reward, social pain, and affect; and heightened sensitivity and more widespread activation of brain regions during acute social exclusion, most notably in the amygdala, left parahippocampal gyrus, and fusiform gyrus, associated with victimisation exposure. In addition, victimised youths also demonstrated greater risk-taking behaviours following acute social exclusion showing greater ventral striatum-inferior frontal gyrus coupling, activation in the bilateral amygdala, orbital frontal cortex (OFC), medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), temporoparietal junction (TPJ), medial posterior parietal cortex (MPPC) and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex(dmPFC), suggesting greater social monitoring, seeking of inclusion, and moreeffortful cognitive control. The studies included participants from a very broad developmental age range, mostly using cross-sectional measure of peer-victimisation exposure, at varying developmental stages. This review highlights the need for more neuroimaging studies in cyberbullying, as well as longitudinal studies across more diverse samples for investigating gender, age, and developmental interactions with peer-victimising. This also brings to attention the importance of addressing bullying victimisation particularly in adolescence, given the evidence for social stress in heightening developmentally sensitive processes which are associated with depression, anxiety, and externalising symptoms.

METHODOLOGICAL MODEL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL COGNITION IN MODULAR-DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATIONAL INTERACTION

The study concerns a systematic methodological substantiation of a fundamentally new psychological solution to the scientific problem of the step-by-step deployment of modular-developmental educational interaction in the space of modern higher education institutions. It was stated that a higher school has a multi-parameter structure, multi-level organization and functionally optimizes personal growth and professional development of participants in the educational process. The strategic direction of a successful solution to this problem was the expansion of the object-subject format of scientific research. On the one hand, the understanding of the educational process is a psychologically based system of goals, tasks, forms, content, technologies, methods and tools of professionally organized education, on the other hand, the determination of psychological characteristics in a modular manner means a developmental interaction of participants in the educational process of higher education as a sequence of four periods of its innovative psycho-content support. Methodologically, it is argued that modular-developmental interaction in the conditions of higher education activates the sequence of four types of exchange (informational-knowledge, normative-volitional, cyclical-meaningful, spiritual-meaningful) and their corresponding styles of developmental interaction (inhibitory, facilitative, moderating, spontaneous) of training participants as carriers of subjective reality in the ontological hypostases of the subject, personality, individuality, universe, forms of their mental activity (behavior, activity, learning, self-creation), psychological mechanisms of deployment of polydialogic interaction (activation, intensification, actualization, self-actualization), which are grounded in the epistemic framework of principles modular-developmental interaction (mentality, modularity, development, spirituality) and the psychological content of periods of a complete educational cycle and stages of the act of psychological cognition (informational-cognitive – situation, normative-regulatory – motivation, value-reflective – action, spiritual-creative – after-action). Thus, the modular development system is based on an innovative scientific paradigm, which comes from a deep (purely psychological) and most progressive awareness of the process of socialization as a vita-cultural phenomenon. The subject of scientific knowledge here is the whole world of the psychocultural experience of mankind, in which numerous national traditions are related to the universal stereotypes, the essential characteristics of the spiritual life of society are diversified by abstract and logical forms of native culture, and scientific rationalism (laws, axioms, etc.) is organically combined with vitacultural taxa, aesthetic images and multivariate material meanings.

Development and function explain the modular evolution of phalanges in gecko lizards.

Selective regimes favouring the evolution of functional specialization probably affect covariation among phenotypic traits. Phalanges of most tetrapods develop from a conserved module that constrains their relative proportions. In geckos, however, biomechanical specializations associated with adhesive toepads involve morphological variation in the autopodium and might reorganize such modular structures. We tested two hypotheses to explain the modular architecture of hand bones in geckos, one based on developmental interactions and another incorporating functional associations related to locomotion, and compared the empirical support for each hypothetical module between padded and padless lineages. We found strong evidence for developmental modules in most species, which probably reflects embryological constraints during phalangeal formation. Although padded geckos exhibit a functional specialization involving the hyperextension of the distal phalanges that is absent in padless species, the padless species are the ones that show a distal functional module with high integration. Some ancestrally padless geckos apparently deviate from developmental predictions and present a relatively weak developmental module of phalanges and a strongly integrated distal module, which may reflect selective regimes involving incipient frictional adhesion in digit morphology. Modularity of digit elements seems dynamic along the evolutionary history of geckos, being associated with the presence/absence of adhesive toepads.