Castles and Pavilions: Creating New Hybrid Places of Exchange

Tom Holbrook , Director at architecture and urban design practice 5th Studio, describes two projects in the south of England that respond spatially to the needs of ‘the knowledge economy’. The first is the River Lea Park, to the east of London, which promotes open connectivity between people in a post- industrial landscape; and the second is the Creative Exchange in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, a building designed to accommodate local enterprise. Both are designed to redirect social and economic activities, supporting creative swarming, and establishing what Stafford Beer has coined as ‘platforms for change’.     

After "The Baltimore Affair": James Mark Baldwin's life and work, 1908–1934.

James Mark Baldwin was one of the earliest American practitioners of the "new psychology" and an influential figure in the emergence and establishment of psychology in the US. He left the US because of a scandal in Baltimore resulting from his arrest at a "colored" bordello. Baldwin returned only occasionally to North America following his forced resignation from Johns Hopkins University in 1909. Contrary to the few references to his life after leaving Baltimore, Baldwin appears to have initially settled in England. He made numerous extended trips to Mexico and continental Europe, especially France, which eventually became his adopted home. Baldwin's later life and work in Europe are examined in this article. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Encrypted Books: Mysteries that Fill Hundreds of Pages

Abstract

The cryptology literature and other sources mention several dozen books that are entirely or partially encrypted. However, a systematic treatise about this issue has never been made. This article aims to close this gap. The author has assembled a list of encrypted books that contains 41 entries, so far. Based on this list, an overview on encrypted books is given. Encrypted books are classified according to criteria like purpose, solved/unsolved, encryption method, and creation time. Numerous open research questions are identified. Finally, it is a goal of this article to ask readers for additional information about the books on the list and for encrypted books that are still missing.     

Review of The Metaphysical Club: A story of ideas in America.

Reviews the book, The Metaphysical Club: A story of ideas in America by Louis Menand (2001). In this highly entertaining and readable history, Menand examines the lives and thinking of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., William James, Charles Sanders Peirce, and John Dewey, members of an informal (and short-lived) discussion group that met in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1872 that called itself the Metaphysical Club. Beginning with the Civil War and ending in 1919 with the Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Abrams, this insightful and thought-provoking book tells a story of the creation of the ideas and values that have shaped how Americans think and how we live. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The radical empiricism of William James and philosophy of history.

William James's philosophy of history is explored in his classic psychological and philosophical works and in 2 articles he devoted specifically to the topic. Historical issues are set forth in terms of James's individualism, pragmatism, and radical empiricism. It is argued that a Jamesian philosophy of history provides a reasoned and believable middle way between the extremes of realism and constructionism. James believed that historical change is brought about both by the contributions of individuals and by forces in cultures and the environment that help shape the direction of things. Finally, the author explores implications of James's pluralism for history and his quarrel with absolutistic conceptual schemes that attempt to reduce all things to 1 thing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology: James J. Gross.

Presents a citation for James J. Gross, who received the 2001 Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology, "for reminding us that emotions do not merely happen to us but rather are actively modified and altered in a number of different ways." A biography and selected bibliography accompany the citation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Francis Frith and Negretti & Zambra

Abstract

When Francis Frith's eagerly awaited¹ stereographic series Egypt and Nubia was published in late 1857, the 100 albumen views caused a popular sensation². W. C. Darrah has recently described them as ‘probably the most lavishly praised and famous series in the history of stereography–³.     

Introspecting in the spirit of William James: Comment on Fox, Ericsson, and Best (2011).

Fox, Ericsson, and Best's (2011) thoughtful justification of the use of think-aloud protocols for revealing the stream of consciousness comes on the centennial of the death of William James, history's greatest practitioner and advocate of introspection. This confluence naturally invites speculation about how James might have responded to the analysis of Fox et al. I suggest that although James would likely view the think-aloud procedure as a scientifically rigorous form of introspection, he would also admonish us not to overlook its limitations. Most notably, although the think-aloud procedure readily captures substantive verbal thoughts, it is less able to capture inchoate cognitions. The conclusion that verbal protocols are nonreactive also raises several additional issues. First, the nonreactivity of thinking aloud does not necessarily speak to its validity. Second, the conclusion that verbal protocols are benign is at odds with recent findings in which verbalization impairs performance on various tasks. I suggest that whereas James might express some concerns regarding aspects of conscious thought that may be overlooked by the think-aloud procedure as well as some caution regarding the possible situations in which thinking aloud might still be reactive, he would almost certainly be pleased to see introspection finally getting the scientific grounding that it deserves. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)