284 research outputs found
An Eye for Possibilities in the Development of Children with Cerebral Palsy: Neurobiology and Neuropsychology in a Cultural-Historical Dynamic Understanding
Taking children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) as an example, the article seeks an understanding ofchildren with disabilities that connects neuropsychological theories of neural development withthe situated cognition perspective and the child as an active participant in its social practices. Theearly brain lesion of CP is reconceptualised as a neurobiological constraint that exists in therelations between the neural, cognitive and social levels. Through a multi-method study of twochildren with CP, it is analysed how neurobiological constraints arise, evolve and sometimes areresolved through local matches between the child and its social practices. The result is discussedas support of a developmental science approach that includes processes at the social practice levelalong with knowledge of biological processes
Superconducting, Insulating, and Anomalous Metallic Regimes in a Gated Two-Dimensional Semiconductor-Superconductor Array
The superconductor-insulator transition in two dimensions has been widely
investigated as a paradigmatic quantum phase transition. The topic remains
controversial, however, because many experiments exhibit a metallic regime with
saturating low-temperature resistance, at odds with conventional theory. Here,
we explore this transition in a novel, highly controllable system, a
semiconductor heterostructure with epitaxial Al, patterned to form a regular
array of superconducting islands connected by a gateable quantum well. Spanning
nine orders of magnitude in resistance, the system exhibits regimes of
superconducting, metallic, and insulating behavior, along with signatures of
flux commensurability and vortex penetration. An in-plane magnetic field
eliminates the metallic regime, restoring the direct superconductor-insulator
transition, and improves scaling, while strongly altering the scaling exponent
Development of a standardized social service pathway for children with complex cerebral palsy: The social production of disability
From a cultural-historical perspective, the impairments of a child with a condition like cerebral palsy (CP) have biological origins, but the disability evolves from the mismatch between the child and his/her social conditions for development (Vygotsky, 1993). One example of this dialectical production of disability can be seen in the challenge of the 21st-century welfare state: How to provide economically feasible health and educational services anchored in evidence-based methods and practices. Standardized social service pathways for children with CP illustrates an attempt to address this challenge and moderate the mismatch by acting in the intersection between impairment and society. The aim of the article is to analyze challenges in the practice of connecting research and practice-based knowledge with societal practices in order to diminish the disability of the child. A multidisciplinary group assembled by the Danish National Board of Social Services engaged in a practice of developing a guideline for a social service pathway. Agendas and minutes from their series of meetings provide insight in how the work evolved through conflictual discussions. Rather than a neutral transformation of knowledge into practice, the practice revealed itself as a value-laden process in which the needs of the child and family were at times decentred and the focus shifted to how social services could be realised in complex, structured social practices. While the group managed to overcome several conflicts and agree of a social service pathway, a socio-economic analysis was unable to argue for the comprehensive social service pathway as an economic sound choice for municipal decision-makers. The conflict between the welfare ideology and economic feasibility remains unresolved and can be expected to limit the extent that impairments can be remedied and the mismatch decreased. Overcoming or diminishing the mismatch might never become economic worthwhile. As the political pendulum oscillates between welfare and economic concerns, the experience of disability will likewise diminish or expand
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