The legal capacity of child-headed households

Article by Graham Ritchie setting out thoughts for a discussion topic for a multi-disciplinary group, aiming not at legal theory but at a signpost for the direction of work to be undertaken by the IALS; the Child Rights Unit of the Department of Law, Free State University, South Africa; and the National University of Lesotho. The article was published in Amicus Curiae - Journal of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies. The Journal is produced by the Society for Advanced Legal Studies at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London

New Zealand families: Child-rearing practices and attitudes

Traditionally, the study of families has been the domain of sociology rather than of psychology. For sociologists the family is an important ‘institution’ because it is a key social structure that shapes the way society is organised. More recently psychology has been developing an interest in families

Trident: What is it For? Challenging the Relevance of British Nuclear Weapons

YesThis briefing paper is the second in a series to be published during 2007 and 2008 as part of the Bradford Disarmament Research Centre¿s programme on Nuclear-Armed Britain: A Critical Examination of Trident Modernisation, Implications and Accountability

Dads: Delights, desires and difficulties: A discussion of changes over the last 40 years in fathers' roles, attitudes and practices

In this paper I discuss changes over the last forty years in fathers' roles, attitudes and practices. In general, fathers are more positive about their role and spend more time with their infants and four year olds. They now talk more with their mates about being a father, and are more likely to give equal importance to their partner's job. However, job pressures mean that they have difficulty balancing their priorities between work and home. Clearly, fathering is being taken seriously by the nineties fathers who feel a conflict between earning a living and spending more time with their children

What’s wrong with the minimal conception of innateness in cognitive science?

One of the classic debates in cognitive science is between nativism and empiricism about the development of psychological capacities. In principle, the debate is empirical. However, in practice nativist hypotheses have also been challenged for relying on an ill-defined, or even unscientific, notion of innateness as that which is “not learned”. Here this minimal conception of innateness is defended on four fronts. First, it is argued that the minimal conception is crucial to understanding the nativism-empiricism debate, when properly construed; Second, various objections to the minimal conception—that it risks overgeneralization, lacks an account of learning, frustrates genuine explanations of psychological development, and fails to unify different notions of innateness across the sciences—are rebutted. Third, it is argued that the minimal conception avoids the shortcomings of primitivism, the prominent view that innate capacities are those that are not acquired via a psychological process in development. And fourth, the minimal conception undermines some attempts to identify innateness with a natural kind. So in short, we have little reason to reject, and good reason to accept, the minimal conception of innateness in cognitive science

Space Shuttle orbiter separation bolts

Evolution of the space shuttle from previous spacecraft systems dictated growth and innovative design of previously standard ordnance devices. Initially, one bolt design was programmed for both 747 and external tank application. However, during development and subsequent analyses, two distinct designs evolved. The unique requirements of both bolts include: high combined loading, redundant initiation, flush separation plane, self-righting and shank attenuation. Of particular interest are the test methods, problem areas, and use of subscale models which demonstrated feasibility at an early phase in the program. The techniques incorporated in the shuttle orbiter bolts are applicable to other mechanisms

A closer look at creativity as search

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