Five proposals are made for incorporating a work-play perspective in career development research: (1) fuse work and play conceptually over the life course; (2) imbue developmental career theory with a work-play fusion; (3) study work and play across the life span; (4) investigate work and play within the life space; and (5) consider a work-play…

Explores significance of new reference groups for maintenance of self-esteem from standpoint of Berger's sociology of knowledge. Argues from Berger's perspective that even extremely powerful experiences of self-acceptance are in desperate need of ongoing "plausibility structure" to reinforce new sense of self. Describes implications for…

A learning-disabled adult offers an autobiographical account of his educational, social, and vocational experiences. (Author/DB)

Discusses various views of domain-specificity. Argues that it is time to move beyond an acknowledgment that constraints on the way knowledge is represented influence the way in which new learning proceeds. Directions for future research are pointed out. (RH)

Considers the possibility of the use of a politically sensitive analysis informed by feminist critique as a way of dealing with the problems of relativism exposed by deconstruction. Discusses implications of deconstructionist thought for work in the field of human development. (PCB)

Argues that the interrelationship of developmental conditions, social provisions, and personal decisions provides a framework for a general theory of development. (PCB)

This paper describes an evolving systems approach for use in exploring aspects of creativity, including: measurement of creativity; uniqueness; processes which amplify deviation; novelty and progress; chance and purpose; networks of enterprise; self-concept; difficulty, duration, and purpose; sudden insight; and sequential stage theories. (JDD)

Several commentaries on Howard Gruber's paper, "The Evolving Systems Approach to Creative Work," are offered: "How High Should One Climb to Find Common Ground?" (Robert Albert); "Where is the Evolving Milieu?" (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi); "Creativity: The Individual, The Systems, The Approach" (Todd Lubart and Robert Sternberg); and "Quality and…

Considers Greek myth of Oedipus and proposes an Oedipus cycle, in contrast to Freud's Oedipus complex, which represents not the unconscious passions of a small boy, but rather the awareness of the life cycle in the larger context of the succession of the generations and their mutual interdependence. (Author/NB)

Explores the use of poetry as therapy to cope with the numerous geographical moves made by an individual in her adult life. Identifies six tasks involved in moving from one home and community to another, and cites examples of poetry written during each of those transitions. (PA)

Provides a model for career transition and predictable paths through that model. The phases are letting go of what is no more; the neutral zone which appears to be an unproductive time-out; and the new beginning, the fruit of the previous phases. (JOW)

Instead of approaching emotions as secondary reactive responses to circumstances, an innovative approach is to treat emotional experiences as information which helps us understand our world. This article discusses working with feeling as a way of knowing and a six-step strategy for understanding the importance, meaning, and value of specific…

Presents Afrocentric model, an approach to identify problems and develop strategies to enhance the sense of belonging, identity, and control in African-American females. Describes three areas of experience (sense of belonging, identity, and control) and demonstrates application of model by discussing preliminary study of African-American females.…

Summarizes recent stage model of psycho-religious functioning developed to help psychotherapists work with religious material in clinical practice. Presents case study illustrating clinical work with young woman in transitional stage of development. Depicts entanglement of client's spiritual struggles with her emotional and interpersonal…

Presents an overview of the conceptual underpinnings of active, independent, and operative learning that promotes personal development and social change. Analyzes historical, philosophical, and theoretical examples and provides structural limits to compare active learning in multiple contexts. (JOW)