I denna skrift undersöks utvecklingssamtalet ur aspekter av bollspel. Med hjälp av traditionell bandy och vanlig tennis anges ett möte mellan spelare som å ena sidan en likhet i tiden och å andra sidan en likhet i rummet. Med hänsyn taget till dessa båda betraktelsesätt framskrivs en metod som syftar till att dechiffrera utvecklingssamtalandet som ett spelande, en metodik som inom ramen för ett verkligt fall tar stöd i den tidsgeografiska notationen. Resultaten visar på sex stycken samtalsämnen som bollas i utvecklingssamtalet: Pat sätter ramar, Enkäten, Uppnåendemål, Nya mål, Underskrift och 5 minuter åt annat. Frågeställningen om vad utvecklingssamtalet betyder anges i spelandet av dessa utvecklingssamtalsämnen oavsett vem spelaren är. Med studien introduceras de teoretiska begreppen liga och cup som ett sociologiskt begreppspar i betydelsen att de anger mötet som en dialektik mellan likheter. Om förtjänsten av dessa betraktelsesätt i studiet av sociala fenomen, andra än utvecklingssamtalet, kan endast korta ledtrådar ges.

Longitudinal research on externalizing disorders has demonstrated that the signs of this form of psychopathology emerge early in life. For example, physically aggressive behaviours can be first observed as early as 18 months of age. Most preschool-aged children develop the self-regulatory abilities to inhibit these problem behaviours and express their aggressive and competitive impulses in alternative, constructive ways. Some children do not develop these abilities and chronic psychosocial difficulties typically result. / Several researchers have raised the possibility that Parent-child rough-and-tumble play (RTP) interactions give parents and children an opportunity to develop the child's self-regulatory abilities. Defined here as aggressive behaviours in a play context, RTP often challenges children to modulate their behaviour to ensure their play partner continues to enjoy the activity. In the work that follows, the hypothesis that parent-child RTP can influence the development of behaviour self-regulation is tested. / The first study reported here shows that the frequency of mother-child RTP in the preschool is negatively associated with physical aggression later in development, though this effect depends on the presence of a father figure in the home. The second study validates the Rough-and-Tumble Play Scales (RTPS), designed to facilitate the study of RTP and the development of self-regulation. The third study uses observational techniques to highlight the importance of a dominant father in play interactions. RTP frequency was negatively associated levels of physical aggression in dyads in which the father was relatively more dominant. The reverse was true for dyads in which the father was relatively less dominant. Finally, the fourth study showed that this interaction between father-child RTP frequency and father dominance also predict several other aspects of self-regulatory functioning 5 years later. / RTP is a highly common, natural, and enjoyable activity for many parents and their children. Collectively, these studies also suggest that under the right conditions, parent-child RTP can influence the development of a child's self-regulatory abilities. While further research is needed, these results hold promise for the development of new interventions for children at risk for externalizing problems and their parents.

Teaching children with autism to interact with their typically developing peers can be a challenge. Previous research has documented that there are many effective ways to teach social interaction; however, these interventions were implemented almost exclusively by trained professionals. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of parent-implemented contextually supported play dates. Specifically, two parents were taught to use mutual reinforcement and to design cooperative arrangements to help their child with autism to interact with a typical peer in their homes. Two independent reversal designs were used to demonstrate a functional relationship between parent-supported contextually supported play dates and an increase in synchronous reciprocal interactions for both participants. Social validity was also high for both parents; however, there was no consistent impact on participant, confederate, or parent affect. The results are discussed with reference to previous research, future directions, and implications for practice.

Many studies suggest that children are increasingly disengaged with the natural environment and in contrast to past decades spend significantly less free time exploring natural play places. Other studies suggest that from the ages of three to eight, foundational childhood memories are formed, and these memories likely influence adult beliefs regarding the natural environment. The goal of this study was to examine the character and ecology of adults’ childhood memories of nature, along with how they potentially shaped the individual as they progressed through life. Adults between the ages of eighteen to twenty-seven were interviewed using a semi structured format, and asked to fill out two questionnaires to detect themes between memories and environmental beliefs. Responses were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results help to identify the behaviours and experiences that encourage children to engage with the natural environment, allowing play spaces to be designed in order to foster environmental connectivity.

Children’s understanding of space is a fusion of reality and fantasy, in which the physical environment, play, and imagination assume important roles. The boundary between the imaginative realm of the child and the physical realm of the world is blurred and penetrable, allowing for uninhibited associations and assimilations with the environment. A design for a children’s library is used to develop a method for designing potent environments for children to experience, play, and imagine. Using a palette of experiential qualities and memorable episodes to inform a set of parts, a series of spaces and activities or events are then dynamically assembled. The library, located within a forest site in Vancouver, is the testing ground for this assembly, playing with spatial and material configurations to blur perceptions of reality and fantasy, between the surrounding natural environment and the constructed one, as well as between the activities of learning and playing, in order to create a dynamic environment for childen.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a behavioral training program on the simple toy play responses of three adolescents with severe and profound mental retardation. Also investigated were possible differences in the difficulty in initial acquisition and generality of the five toy functions chosen: direct push, build, pull, indirect electronic push, and wind. Two toys in each functional category were used. Using a multiple baseline across subjects design, each subject was scored on appropriate toy play during each session. Baseline sessions consisted simply of presenting the toy to the, subject and requesting him/her to play with it. During treatment sessions, the training sequence consisted of a verbal stimulus, a verbal instruction, modeling, shadowing, partial graduated guidance, and full graduated guidance. All subjects received positive reinforcement (i.e., verbal and physical praise with or without edibles) following every appropriate response. Because all subjects reached the prespecified mastery level of each of the 10 toys, it was concluded that the training sequence was an efficient technology in teaching toy play responses. In addition, the relative difficulty among and generality within functions was discussed.

Scholarship on David Foster Wallace understandably tends to focus on addiction in his novel Infinite Jest, as well as on his stated desire for a literary movement that transcends the recursive, ironic loop of the postmodern. This essay, however, explores issues of trauma and perversion in Wallace's fiction – primarily beginning with Infinite Jest, chronologically speaking – demonstrating Wallace's concern with the freedom of choice. A palpable friction exists between conservatism and sexual taboos, and this friction characterizes much, if not most, of Wallace's fictional oeuvre. A principally psychoanalytic reading of the sexual elements at play in Infinite Jest, as well as in several stories from Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and Oblivion, cultivates a more thorough understanding of the addiction theme present in his work.

A thematic analysis was conducted in order to reveal and identify central themes composing the motivational aspects of the popular Let’s Play media phenomenon. Nine informants with various connections to Let’s Plays were interviewed online through the use of a 17-item interview survey developed by the researcher. A total of five major recurring themes were discovered relating to the informants’ motivational reasons for making and viewing Let’s Plays as part of their spare time activities. Based on these discoveries, it can be assumed that the Let’s Play phenomenon contributes to modern-day need fulfillment relating to online socialization, entertainment, technological competence, commercialization and interpersonal relations between the media audience and the media personalities they follow. It was concluded that the Let’s Play phenomenon, and the communities contained within it, holds potential for the future development of videogame industry as a whole as well as being an interesting new arena for media research in general. Implications for further research within the field of Let’s Plays are therefore made in order to ensure the possibility of expanding the scientific knowledge surrounding this media phenomenon.

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