A Preliminary Investigation of the Comparative Expectations of Parents of Children with Autism and Chairpersons in the Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) and/or Committee on Special Education (CSE) Process

This qualitative study explored the underlying beliefs of parents who have children with autism and chairpersons of the Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE)/Committee on Special Education (CSE). Specifically, beliefs that promote trust and diminish conflict were of primary interest, as high rates of litigation were well documented with this group of parents in the United States. The theory of defensive reasoning (Argyris, 1999) was the lens used to analyze the dynamic. The themes identified provide insight into the promotion of trust and the reduction of conflict at the CPSE/CSE. The findings revealed two distinctly different expectations within the parent group of participants: parents who expect the worst (n=3), and parents who expect to figure it out (n=9). The chairperson participants reported that most parents, new to the process, expected the worst. Chairpersons (n=9) reported that they were able to form collaborative relationships with most parents. Chairpersons and most parents reported common underlying beliefs that they attributed to the formation of collaborative relationships. This study revealed new insights associated with the underlying beliefs of each group of participants. Most parents in this study reported a lack of conflict and described the chairperson as an ally. It was also found that chairpersons may falsely believe in potential threat at the CPSE/CSE, as chairperson expectations and beliefs were ultimately well aligned with those of most parents. The sharing of underlying beliefs between parents and chairpersons is not uniformly practiced at the CPSE/CSE. These findings are discussed including implications for parents, parent advocates, chairpersons, and future research

Pari Passu and A Distressed Sovereign\u27s Rational Choices

Part I describes the disruptive role the pari passu clause plays in sovereign debt compositions, stating the case favoring the narrow reading. Part II reconsiders the economic incentives in play at the time lenders close loans to sovereigns, stating a case for the broad reading. Part III works the competing readings through the legal framework of bond contract interpretation. The exercise shows that the matter comes down to a choice between an ex ante reading, conducted as of the time the contract is executed and delivered, and an ex post reading, conducted as of the later time of distress. The Article concludes that the ex post reading legitimately may be attached to the clause, not because it is correct at all times and in all contexts, but because this is in fact a time of distress

Comparativism and the Measurement of Partial Belief

According to comparativism, degrees of belief are reducible to a system of purely ordinal comparisons of relative confidence. (For example, being more confident that P than that Q, or being equally confident that P and that Q.) In this paper, I raise several general challenges for comparativism, relating to (i) its capacity to illuminate apparently meaningful claims regarding intervals and ratios of strengths of belief, (ii) its capacity to draw enough intuitively meaningful and theoretically relevant distinctions between doxastic states, and (iii) its capacity to handle common instances of irrationality

A Silver Lining: The Role of Optimism in Overcoming Poverty in Early Life

Who is able to overcome adversity and experience upward mobility? Using cumulative inequality theory, which posits that the disadvantage or advantage associated with one’s social location impacts life trajectory and perceptions of such, I propose that level of optimistic outlook in individuals from low-income backgrounds increases their chances of financial success in adulthood. Analyzing data from the 2016 General Social Survey, a nationally representative survey administered to randomly sampled adults in the U.S., I examine a subset of 1,269 individuals from backgrounds of far below average or below average family income levels. In doing so, I determine how optimistic attitudes, regarding matters such as personal agency and success, influence whether the individual may obtain a higher degree of financial success in adulthood compared to those of their families. Findings indicate that higher levels of optimism are associated with greater family income levels, with level of education and marital status as the biggest predictors of adult financial standing. With higher educational attainment, optimistic outlook increases, perhaps due to an increase in career opportunities and pathways to success. These findings show how influential education may be on intergenerational income mobility, however, they also provide insight on how disadvantage, including being a person of color; being divorced, separated or a single-parent; as well as how many children one has, may create limitations on educational attainment and effects on outlook. Such findings call attention to the need for greater financial and educational assistance programs, due to their impact on outlook and subsequent life course