Social Development Perspective Research Articles

A COMPARATIVE CONTENT ANALYSIS OF SOUTH AFRICAN AND KENYAN DRUG POLICIES FROM A SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE

 South Africa and Kenya have both adopted a social development approach to shape their development agendas, as well as national policies in response to drug abuse. The goal of this study was to compare the content of South Africa’s National Drug Master Plan 2006-2011 (NDMP) and Kenya’s National Drug Abuse Control Policy 2011 (NDACP) from a social development perspective. A quantitative comparative study was undertaken to compare the manifest content of these policies. A checklist of five dimensions of social development, with concomitant themes and indicators, was compiled for this purpose. Both policies emphasise the dimensions ‘levels of service delivery’ and ‘integrated service delivery’, while paying limited attention to the ‘rights-based approach’ and ‘capital development’ dimensions of social development. Lessons learnt from the study are presented in an effort to align drug policies, especially those of developing countries, with a social development approach.

Social Psychological and Developmental Perspectives on Early Sport Specialization

One of the primary dilemmas surrounding the topic of early sport specialization is whether the practice develops talent or creates long-term psychological problems. The purpose of this paper is to discuss this issue using psychosocial and developmental frameworks. This review begins with an overview of several developmentallybased constructs (e.g., biological maturation, perceived competence, body image, self-identity, motivational orientation) that are relevant to the sport domain. These developmental progressions are then used to address some potential implications for children who begin intensive training and competition at an early age. Next, some socioenvironmental factors are explored, with specific links made to the early sport specialization process. Finally, the paper ends with four recommendations for future research on the topic.

The complexity of rural contexts experienced by community disability workers in three southern African countries.

An understanding of rural communities is fundamental to effective community-based rehabilitation work with persons with disabilities. By removing barriers to community participation, persons with disabilities are enabled to satisfy their fundamental human needs. However, insufficient attention has been paid to the challenges that rural community disability workers (CDWs) face in trying to realise these objectives. This qualitative interpretive study, involving in-depth interviews with 16 community disability workers in Botswana, Malawi and South Africa, revealed the complex ways in which poverty, inappropriately used power and negative attitudes of service providers and communities combine to create formidable barriers to the inclusion of persons with disabilities in families and rural communities. The paper highlights the importance of understanding and working with the concept of ‘disability’ from a social justice and development perspective. It stresses that by targeting attitudes, actions and relationships, community disability workers can bring about social change in the lives of persons with disabilities and the communities in which they live.

Impact of China’s cooperation: the case of Chinese garages in Tanzania

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to investigate China ' s motive for its relations with Africa. Within that broad framework, the paper investigates China–Tanzania cooperation from an economic and social development perspective. It analyses the status of Chinese investments and, more specifically, it focuses on the increasing numbers of Chinese garages and assesses whether they have positive spill-over towards achievement of sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach – Case study was used; it involves an up-close, in-depth and detailed examination of the growth of Chinese garages in Tanzania, as well as its related contextual conditions including the overall impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the vehicle repair sector in Tanzania. Scholarly works from various sources including researchers as well as authoritative reports were consulted. Findings – The paper shows that there is an increase in Chinese garage investment which has brought significant benefits such as technology spill-over, increased employment albeit at low-level pay as well as functioning as a stimulus for Tanzanian self-employment. Practical implications – A free market environment which attracts significant FDI including Chinese garages should be strengthened. Chinese garages should not employ Chinese when there are Tanzanians with required expertise. Further research on the long history of relations between Tanzania and Scandinavian countries is better for comparison. Originality/value – The paper presents original findings based on scholarly work related to the growth of Chinese garage investments in Tanzania.

Toward developmentally aware practices in the legal system: Progress, challenge, and promise.

Much research in developmental psychology has implications for practice and policy. In this article, I first describe how initial attempts to understand early social development and embrace multidisciplinary perspectives helped inform more nuanced approaches to the development of parenting plans for children with separating and maltreating parents. Second, I trace the ways in which notorious child abuse cases fostered research on children's testimonial capacities, which, in turn, informed the development of more effective forensic interview techniques. Progress in these domains has, however, been offset by failures to apply similar developmentally sensitive principles when dealing with children classified as suspects rather than victims, with children who testify in court, and with children in the child welfare system.

Designing schools to Support Socialization Processes of Students

This paper discusses the importance of understanding how the built environment of schools relates to the socialization processes of students. Schools can be affective systems that promote the social, emotional, and academic skills of children and youth, by serving as social microcosms of the broader society. It is widely recognized among education researchers and practitioners that social and emotional (non-cognitive) skills significantly influence student learning and performance. These skills include recognizing and managing emotions, developing caring and concern for others, establishing positive relationships, making responsible decisions, and handling challenging situations constructively. These skills serve as the foundation for a broad range of psychosocial, academic, and occupational outcomes. Subsequently, many primary and secondary schools in the U.S. are investing resources into interventions that focus on the promotion of these skills. From a socio-technical systems perspective, school interventions that aim to improve social and emotional outcomes are influenced by the social and emotional conditions for learning. There is evidence to suggest that the built environment of schools affect these social and emotional conditions and contributes to student socialization—factors that promote social and emotional skills—associated with academic learning and performance. However, research that examines the influence of the built environment of schools on student outcomes predominately focus on academic outcomes with little attention to the processes and outcomes from a social and emotional development perspective. An improved understanding of how attributes of the built environment of schools relate to socialization processes can further inform efforts to enhance the conditions for learning associated with both student learning and performance and social and emotional outcomes.

지속가능생산시스템의 특성 분석 및 V&V 전략

Manufacturing industry is one of the core sectors providing national competitiveness and economical impact Today's manufacturing industry is required to fulfill so called Sustainable Factory paradigm from the perspectives of environmental and social development. To cope with the requirements, researches for achieving sustainability in manufacturing system are actively carried out in the world from various perspectives. In this paper, we analyzed systemic characteristics of sustainable manufacturing system, and developed verification & validation strategy based on traceability between system requirement and functionality. The developed methods were applied to a European Project called the Foundation for the Sustainable Factory of the Future (FoFdation). Specifically, we analyzed and verified the deliverables of FoFdation by deriving systems architecture in terms of Component, Function, and Items. The results indicated that the FoFdation is pretty much compliant with the concept of Ubiquitous Factory, and can be used as an International Reference Model for the Smart Factoy, a world wide hot topic under the paradigm of IOT (Internet-Of-Things), if information processing part is supplemented.

A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL DRUG MASTER PLAN: LESSONS FOR ALIGNING POLICY WITH SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

If drug policies, such as the South African National Drug Master Plan 2006-2011 (NDMP2), are drafted according to a social developmental perspective, the efforts of stakeholders could be strengthened to mitigate substance abuse, eradicate drug-related crimes, and contribute towards achieving social development goals. This study determined whether the NDMP2 is drafted in accordance with a social development perspective. Quantitative research, with content analysis as research strategy, was adopted to determine whether indicators of social development are embedded in the manifest content of the NDMP2. Results show the NDMP2 has both strengths and limitations when interpreted from a social development perspective.

Examining the link between adolescent brain development and risk taking from a social–developmental perspective (reprinted)

The adolescent age period is often characterized as a health paradox because it is a time of extensive increases in physical and mental capabilities, yet overall mortality/morbidity rates increase significantly from childhood to adolescence, often due to preventable causes such as risk taking. Asynchrony in developmental time courses between the affective/approach and cognitive control brain systems, as well as the ongoing maturation of neural connectivity are thought to lead to increased vulnerability for risk taking in adolescence. A critical analysis of the frequency of risk taking behaviors, as well as mortality and morbidity rates across the lifespan, however, challenges the hypothesis that the peak of risk taking occurs in middle adolescence when the asynchrony between the different developmental time courses of the affective/approach and cognitive control systems is the largest. In fact, the highest levels of risk taking behaviors, such as alcohol and drug use, often occur among emerging adults (e.g., university/college students), and highlight the role of the social context in predicting risk taking behavior. Moreover, risk taking is not always unregulated or impulsive. Future research should broaden the scope of risk taking to include risks that are relevant to older adults, such as risky financial investing, gambling, and marital infidelity. In addition, a lifespan perspective, with a focus on how associations between neural systems and behavior are moderated by context and trait-level characteristics, and which includes diverse samples (e.g., divorced individuals), will help to address some important limitations in the adolescent brain development and risk taking literature.

What is the Role of Social Work in China? A Multi-Dimensional Analysis

This article analyzes the role of social work in the context of the special political, economic, cultural, and historical background in China. A historical perspective is used to understand the evolution of the Chinese welfare system and explain the timing of reintroducing the social work profession. A pluralistic perspective is adopted to define social work relating to different stakeholders in social welfare and services. The government starts to diminish its role as a direct service provider. The traditional family and community have less capacity to take care of people. Yet, the social work profession is not ready to take over. Finally, a social development perspective is used to illustrate why economic growth is prioritized by the Chinese government and social work as profession is supposed to work to promote social stability and prosperity. Implications for social work research and practice are discussed.

The Role of Beliefs About the Importance of Social Skills in Elementary Children’s Social Behaviors and School Attitudes

Background Positive attitudes toward school have been suggested as a meaningful indicator of school engagement among elementary children. The current study was guided by a social cognitive developmental perspective which suggests that social cognitions, including beliefs, play an important role in children’s adjustment outcomes.

Evolved morality: The biology and philosophy of human conscience

Table of Contents 1. Evolution A history of the altruism-morality debate in biology Oren Harman The moral consequences of social selection Christopher Boehm Natural normativity: The is and ought of animal behavior Frans de Waal 2. Meta-ethics Empiricism and normative ethics: What do the biology and the psychology of morality have to do with ethics? Owen Flanagan, Aaron Ancell, Stephen Martin and Gordon Steenbergen Human nature and science Simon Blackburn Is a naturalized ethics possible? Philip Kitcher The origins of moral judgment Richard Joyce 3. Neuroscience and Development The neurobiological platform for moral values Patricia Smith Churchland The neuroscience of social relations. A comparative-based approach to empathy and to the capacity of evaluating others' action value Pier Francesco Ferrari A social cognitive developmental perspective on moral judgment Larisa Heiphetz and Liane Young Morality, intentionality, and intergroup attitudes Melanie Killen and Michael T. Rizzo 4. Religion Does religion make people moral? Ara Norenzayan Supernatural beliefs: Adaptations for social life or byproducts of cognitive adaptations? Vittorio Girotto, Telmo Pievani, Giorgio Vallortigara

A social cognitive developmental perspective on moral judgment

Moral judgment constitutes an important aspect of adults’ social interactions. How do adults’ moral judgments develop? We discuss work from cognitive and social psychology on adults’ moral judgment, and we review developmental research to illuminate its origins. Work in these fields shows that adults make nuanced moral judgments based on a number of factors, including harm aversion, and that the origins of such judgments lie early in development. We begin by reviewing evidence showing that distress signals can cue moral judgments but are not necessary for moral judgment to occur. Next, we discuss findings demonstrating that both children and adults distinguish moral violations from violations of social norms, and we highlight the influence of both moral rules and social norms on moral judgment. We also discuss the influence of actors’ intentions on moral judgment. Finally, we offer some closing thoughts on potential similarities between moral cognition and reasoning about other ideologies.

Examining the link between adolescent brain development and risk taking from a social–developmental perspective

The adolescent age period is often characterized as a health paradox because it is a time of extensive increases in physical and mental capabilities, yet overall mortality/morbidity rates increase significantly from childhood to adolescence, often due to preventable causes such as risk taking. Asynchrony in developmental time courses between the affective/approach and cognitive control brain systems, as well as the ongoing maturation of neural connectivity are thought to lead to increased vulnerability for risk taking in adolescence. A critical analysis of the frequency of risk taking behaviors, as well as mortality and morbidity rates across the lifespan, however, challenges the hypothesis that the peak of risk taking occurs in middle adolescence when the asynchrony between the different developmental time courses of the affective/approach and cognitive control systems is the largest. In fact, the highest levels of risk taking behaviors, such as alcohol and drug use, often occur among emerging adults (e.g., university/college students), and highlight the role of the social context in predicting risk taking behavior. Moreover, risk taking is not always unregulated or impulsive. Future research should broaden the scope of risk taking to include risks that are relevant to older adults, such as risky financial investing, gambling, and marital infidelity. In addition, a lifespan perspective, with a focus on how associations between neural systems and behavior are moderated by context and trait-level characteristics, and which includes diverse samples (e.g., divorced individuals), will help to address some important limitations in the adolescent brain development and risk taking literature.

The Effects of Friendship Network Popularity on Depressive Symptoms During Early Adolescence: Moderation by Fear of Negative Evaluation and Gender

We integrated a social network analysis and developmental perspectives to examine the effects of friendship network popularity on depressive symptoms during early adolescence. We explored whether the association between social status processes (i.e., friendship network popularity) and depressive symptoms was moderated by socio-cognitive aspects of peer relations (i.e., a fear of negative evaluation by peers) and gender. This longitudinal study was conducted with a sample of 367 adolescents (48.5 % female; M age = 11.9 years; 9 % European American, 19 % African American, 7 % Native American, 60 % Latino(a), 5 % other) attending sixth and seventh grades at Time 1. Results indicated that, for males with high levels of fear of negative evaluation, friendship network popularity was associated negatively with increases in depressive symptoms. Conversely, for females with high levels of fear of negative evaluation, friendship network popularity was associated positively with increases in depressive symptoms. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

The Psychology of personhood: philosophical, historical, social-developmental, and narrative perspectives

1. Introducing persons and the psychology of personhood Jack Martin and Mark H. Bickhard Part I. Philosophical, Conceptual Perspectives: 2. The person concept and the ontology of persons Michael A. Tissaw 3. Achieving personhood: the perspective of hermeneutic phenomenology Charles Guignon Part II. Historical Perspectives: 4. Historical psychology of persons: categories and practice Kurt Danziger 5. Persons and historical ontology Jeff Sugarman 6. Critical personalism: on its tenets, its historical obscurity, and its future prospects James T. Lamiell Part III. Social-Developmental Perspectives: 7. Conceiving of self and others as persons: evolution and development John Barresi, Chris Moore and Raymond Martin 8. Position exchange theory and personhood: moving between positions and perspectives within physical, socio-cultural and psychological space and time Jack Martin and Alex Gillespie 9. The emergent ontology of persons Mark H. Bickhard 10. Theorizing personhood for the world in transition and change: reflections from a transformative activist stance on human development Anna Stetsenko Part IV. Narrative Perspectives: 11. Identity and narrative as root metaphors of personhood Amia Lieblich and Ruthellen Josselson 12. Storied persons: the double triad of narrative identity Mark Freeman.

BIOTECHNOLOGY AS ‘CULTURAL INVASION’: THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND COMMUNITY BUILDING IN AFRICA

With famine gripping much of Southern Africa, issues of hunger and food security are a key ethical concern for Christians in the subcontinent. This article examines the growing debate around the implications of Genetic Engineering for agriculture and food security from the perspective of social development. Drawing on the conceptual framework of dialogical and anti-dialogical action suggested by the Brazilian educationalist, Paulo Freire, the author argues that rather than being a solution to the problem, this kind of technology will further exacerbate the inequality and poverty that is at the root of hunger and famine. The article ends with a reflection on food sovereignty and community building in Africa.

An international internship on social development led by Canadian nursing students: Empowering learning

A Canadian nursing student-led knowledge dissemination project on health promotion for social development was implemented with local professionals and communities in Brazil. (a) to identify how student-interns contrasted Canadian and Brazilian cultural and social realities within a primary healthcare context from a social development perspective; (b) to examine how philosophical underpinnings, including social critical theory and notions of social justice, guided student-interns in acknowledging inequalities in primary healthcare in Brazil; and (c) to participate in the debate on the contribution of Canadian nursing students to the global movement for social development. A qualitative appraisal of short-term outcomes of an international internship in the cities of Birigui & Araçatuba (São Paulo-Brazil). Four Canadian fourth-year undergraduate nursing students enrolled in a metropolitan university program. Recruitment was through an email invitation to the student-interns, who accepted, and signed informed consent forms. Their participation was unpaid and voluntary. One-time individual interviews were conducted at the end of their internships. Transcriptions of the audio-recorded interviews were coded using the qualitative software program ATLAS ti 6.0. The findings were analyzed using thematic analysis. Student-interns' learning unfolded from making associations among concepts, new ideas, and their previous experiences, leading to a personal transformation through which they established new conceptual and personal connections. The two main themes revealed by the thematic analysis were dichotomizing realities, that is, acknowledging the existence of "two sides of each situation," and discovering an unexpected reciprocity between global and urban health. Furthermore, the student-interns achieved personal and professional empowerment. The knowledge gained from the international experience helped the student-interns learn how to collaborate with Brazilian society's sectors to improve the social conditions of a "marginalized population". Student-interns became aware of their inner power to promote change by making invisible inequity visible in their own terms.

Attachment predicts daily catastrophizing and social coping in women with pain.

To examine how anxious and avoidant adult attachment styles moderate within-day associations between pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, and social coping. Two-hundred and ten women with osteoarthritis and/or fibromyalgia from the community completed an initial questionnaire assessing attachment dimensions and a 30 day electronic diary. Outcomes were measured with daily ratings of pain intensity, catastrophizing, and social coping. Attachment anxiety showed a context-specific relation with catastrophizing: days of increased pain predicted greater increases in pain catastrophizing for women who were anxious compared to nonanxious women. Attachment avoidance scores were related to higher mean levels of pain intensity and pain catastrophizing, and lower mean levels of social coping, across the diary period. In addition, compared to nonavoidant women, avoidant women showed smaller increases in use of social coping strategies on days of high catastrophizing. Dimensions of adult attachment, anxiety and avoidance, predict different aspects of daily pain and pain coping in women with chronic pain. Findings suggest that a social development perspective can inform our understanding of adjustment to chronic pain and the creation and use of more effective prevention and treatment strategies.

Early Resilience in the Context of Parent–Infant Relationships: A Social Developmental Perspective

The growth of infants' regulatory capacities is foundational to the capacity for resilience. Variations in the quality of early social--emotional experience can promote or undermine infants' regulatory capacities. Such capacities are also dynamically sculpted by the relationships among infant, parent, and contextual--cultural factors. Brief periods of disorganization in parent-infant relationships are inevitable, common, and reflect everyday demands on parents and infants. The uneven nature of parent-infant interactions fosters the emergence of new infant capacities. Parental depression and anxiety as well as infant medical, behavioral, and temperamental issues can result in prolonged periods of dyadic disorganization and maladaptive infant outcomes. Child health clinicians can help parents anticipate the normal periods of disorganization and assist parents as they strive to develop optimal parent-infant relationships.