This article begins with Geoffrey Clarfield describing how by becoming an anthropologist, going to graduate school, shipping out to Kenya in the mid-1980s, and doing field work among a Cushitic speaking group of camel nomads in the desert lands of northern Kenya, he was able to achieve his goal of both experiencing and understanding the difference…

The dynamic systems (DS) approach has emerged as an influential and potentially unifying metatheory for developmental science. Its central platform--the argument against design--suggests that structure spontaneously and without prescription emerges through self-organization. In one of the most prominent accounts of DS, Thelen and her colleagues…

In this article, we wrestle with the core issue of how early career researchers translate central tenets and core concepts of critical theory and critical methodology into their research practice. By way of creative representation, we draw from bell hooks and Cornel West's (1991) written rendition of their verbal dialogue in "Breaking Bread:…

A new paper presents a strong case for life satisfaction scales (Diener et al. in "Soc Indic Res," 2012). However, it underestimates two important weaknesses in subjective wellbeing (SWB) measures: the contrast between individual satisfaction and social discontent; and the contradictory evidence on the benefits of personal freedom. This commentary…

Sam Hillyard's (2010) recent article has the value of highlighting the issue of theory development in interactionism, ethnography, and the sociology of education. It also reminds of a fruitful, and unique, research programme in educational research that stretched from the early 1960s into the 1990s. However, in the author's view Hillyard's…

Now spanning 31 years, the "Journal of Organizational Behavior Management" ("JOBM") continues to generate new conceptual ideas and high-quality research in the field of Organizational Behavior Management (OBM). However, it is a bit disheartening to realize that the growth (in terms of number of practitioners and researchers) and expected impact of…

Globalization and transformations in nation-state structures require developing a new social-political language that would allow a peaceful coexistence for various identities and interests. This entails revising the link between local histories and the "universal." Education can play a crucial role for developing this language. This…

The use of "development" is ubiquitous in everyday language, and theories regarding it can be found in the social sciences and humanities. Although much work has been done to examine the meaning of development and its history, little attention has been paid to Hegel's role as the philosophical anchor for the modern life of "development". By…

Not too long ago, Wolff-Michael Roth suggested that this space might be made into a kind of open house. The author of this article wants to use Roth's suggestion to take up his own intriguing editorial on the ontology of difference. The author wants to show that the ontology of difference is nonidentical with the ontology of difference: It can be…

Recognizing that the study and practice of student development may be significantly enhanced through the integration of resources beyond the traditional borders of the field, this article offers conceptualizations of developments from various academic and cultural perspectives. Suggests practical applications for professional preparation and…

Research about identity has undergone a discursive turn in recent years, with a shift from conceptualising identity as an essentialistic, pre-existing construct that drives social interaction, to a more fluid and hybrid construct that is constituted through discourse. As a result, a number of recent studies investigating the construction of…

Professional learning nourishes practice. Sometimes we are able to navigate daily within a community of learners or find such fellowship online. At other moments we seek out books and journals to stimulate inner voyages. The author describes how different books, journals, and Web pages have helped her along her own learning voyage. (AEF)

Discusses two related problems generated by Piaget's psychology of decentered knowing. Subjectivity, consciousness, and self-consciousness are ruled out; the dynamic transformation of society through history is reduced to triviality. (Author/DB)

Complexity is an important principle for those building new media and new ways to make content work. New media and forms of content must complement existing media, instead of aiming to replace them. People may be more willing to try something new if there's a connection with the old. (AEF)

Traces the historical development of instructional technology and human resources development (HRD) as professions out of the instructional media field. Highlights their differences and similarities as disciplines and as professions. The importance of instructional media, professional development, and professional cooperation are discussed. (JL)