Admiration is thought to have essential functions for social interaction: it inspires us to learn from excellent models, to become better people, and to praise others and create social bonds. In intergroup relations, admiration for other groups leads to greater intergroup contact, cooperation, and help. Given these implications, it is surprising that admiration has only been researched by a handful of authors. In this article we review the literature, focusing on the definition of admiration, links to related emotions, measurement, antecedents, (...) and associated behaviors. We propose a conceptual model of admiration that highlights admiration’s function for approaching and emulating successful models, thus contributing to social learning at the interpersonal level and to cultural transmission at the group and societal level. (shrink)

We give a historical overview of the development of almost 50 years of empirical research on the affordances in the past and in the present. Defined by James Jerome Gibson in the early development of the Ecological Approach to Perception and Action as the prime of perception and action, affordances have become a rich topic of investigation in the fields of human movement science and experimental psychology. The methodological origins of the empirical research performed on affordances can be traced back (...) to the mid 1980’s and the works of Warren (1984, 1988) and Michaels (1988). Most of the research in Ecological Psychology performed since has focused on the actualization of discretely defined actions, the perception of action boundaries, the calculation of pi-numbers, and the measurement of response times. The research efforts have resulted in advancements in the understanding of the dynamic nature of affordances, affordances in a social context and the importance of calibration for perception of affordances. Although affordances are seen as an instrumental part of the control of action most studies investigating affordances do not pay attention to the control of the action. We conclude that affordances are still primarily treated as a utility to select behaviour, which creates a conceptual barrier that hinders deeper understanding of affordances. A focus on action-boundaries has largely prevented advancement in other aspects of affordances, most notably an integrative understanding of the role of affordances in the control of action. (shrink)

This volume presents the history of Western education through the biographies of some 70 individuals, past and present, who exemplify the education of their times or have made important contributions to the development of educational theory or practice. In so doing, it links major issues and ideas in education to key historical personalities. Each chapter includes substantive background information, a summary, and chapter notes.

"If the twentieth century was characterized by the struggle between freedom and tyranny, the great battle of the twenty-first century, Joan Smith predicts, will be between global capitalism and universal human rights. While acknowledging that there is no easy route to creating a fairer, more humane world, we do, she believes, 'have before us the opportunity to create a new kind of society whose values, because they are based on respect rather than coercion, can truly claim to be more moral (...) than anything that has gone before'."--BOOK JACKET. (shrink)

Mandatory workfare has been the centerpiece of welfare reform in this decade. In 1992-94, there was a pitched legislative battle over mandatory workfare in Vermont. Feminist organizations mobilized to oppose the mandatory work requirement, producing data to substantiate the claims that women's jobs did not pay enough to purchase basic needs for their families, that unemployment remained a serious problem for single mothers, and that in states where workfare had already been adopted, it did not raise families out of poverty. (...) Vermont's original bill was made less punitive for welfare recipients in some significant respects as a result of the debate. (shrink)