Jonathan Reams
Vol. 16 No. 2 Aug 2020
Scaffolding Developmental Transformation Among Immigrants in Order to Facilitate Self-Directed Integration: Practices and Theories of Change
Thomas Jordan
Abstract:This article reports findings from an empirical study of six Swedish programs using dialogue-based approaches to bridge gaps in views and norms, support relevant knowledge acquisition and support empowerment of immigrants who are still living on the margin of the Swedish society. The main purpose of the study was to investigate the program theories of the programs included in the study, with particular emphasis on their theories of change and practices used to scaffold developmental transformation of the meaning-making systems of immigrants. Several adult development frameworks and program theory provided the analytical framework for the study.
The analysis of the program theories of the six programs included in the study yielded an inventory of 72 practices used by all, most or some of the interviewed program leaders. A large share of these practices were regarded as very important in all or almost all of the six programs we studied. The inventory of practices can be regarded as a framework that can be used both by researchers in further investigations and by practitioners who want to reflect on and develop their skills and practices.
Tags: refugees, integration, Thomas Jordan, scaffolding, dialogue, Developmental transformation, empowerment, immigrants
The Prometheus Leadership Commons: A Meta-Framework for Leadership and Leadership Development
Tom Bohinc, Jonathan Reams, Richard Claydon
Leadership development suffers a plethora of problems: complexity, competitiveness, pressured stakeholders and unmet needs only start to express the challenges. These issues are suitably summarized by this meta-problem for the subject of leadership: How to navigate the territory? How can a student of leadership, a middle manager, an L&D specialist or a CLO plot a pathway through such a confusing landscape? The Prometheus Project initiated a cross-disciplinary research team to conceptualize a framework that addresses this meta-problem. This paper introduces and discusses the resulting framework, describes our method, and asserts recommendations for expanding the circle of consent for a clear framework for developing the capacities and skills of leadership.
Tags: performance, Jonathan Reams, personal development, leadership, training, development, Tom Bohinc, organization development, Richard Claydon, Adaptive change, coaching, executive, framework, leadership industry
Stage Models of Adult Development: A Critical Introduction to Concepts, Debates, and Future Directions
Ben Bjorgaard
Abstract: Diverse approaches have modeled and characterized a number of trajectories of adult psychological development that originate in stage models of developmental psychology. The number of these approaches has increased significantly in recent decades as stage models have become more popular and been applied outside of the academe, along with innovations occurring within the academe. Additionally, multiple stakeholders have sought knowledge about the types of thinking and psychological development suited for contemporary contexts and needed by individuals and communities to adequately respond to present and anticipated circumstances; this has gone hand-in-hand with psychological developmental models being increasingly applied across disciplines. The challenges involved in this research area have led to novel critical debates and developments. However, details about the theoretical and methodological foundations of these approaches are often underexamined, which can lead to misinterpretation and misapplication. This article sets out to survey some of these theoretical and methodological issues. Surveyed concepts and issues include functional, soft, and hard stages; metrics, models, constructs, and domains; and the relationship of stage models to the broader field of developmental science. Finally, suggestions about the study of adult development beyond stage models are provided including the need for interdisciplinary research and frameworks.
Tags: applied developmental science, postconventional development, postformal development, problem-focused methodological pluralism, relational developmental systems, Bjorgaard, Adult psychological development
Being Prepared to be Unprepared: Meaning Making is Critical for the Resilience of Critical Infrastructure Systems
John E. Thomas, Thomas P. Seager, Thomas J. Murray, Scott Cloutier
Abstract: Infrastructure is essential to provision of public health, safety, and well-being. Yet, even critical infrastructure systems cannot be designed, constructed, and operated to be robust to the myriad of surprising hazards they are likely to be subject to. As such, there has been increasing emphasis in Federal policy on enhancing infrastructure resilience. Nonetheless, existing research on infrastructure systems often overlooks the role of individual decision-making and team dynamics under the conditions of high ambiguity and uncertainty typically associated with surprise. Although evidence suggests that human factors correlating with resilience and adaptive capacity emerge in later stages of psychological development, there is an acute need for new knowledge about the human capacity to comprehend increasing levels of complexity in the context of rapidly evolving technological, ecological, and social stress conditions. Sometimes, it is this developmental capacity for meaning-making that is the difference between adaptive and maladaptive response. Thus, without a better understanding of the human capacity to develop and assign meaning to complex systems, unquestioned misconceptions about the human role may prevail. In this work, we examine the dynamic relationships between human and technological systems from a developmental perspective. We argue that knowledge of resilient human development can improve system resilience by aligning roles and responsibilities with the developmental capacities of individuals and groups responsible for the design, operation, and management of critical infrastructures. Taking a holistic approach that draws on both psychology and resilience engineering literature facilitates construction of an integrated model that lends itself to empirical verification of future research.
Tags: resilience, resilience engineering, Seager, Cloutier, human development, Murray, Thomas, human resilience, infrastructure
Ken Wilber’s Problematic Relationship to Science
Frank Visser
Abstract: Ken Wilber has argued for a spiritual view of evolution. To make his case he has defended three knowledge claims: (1) current science fails to explain major transformations in evolution, (2) some scientific views seem to support his view that the cosmos is inherently creative, and (3) his own theory of evolution is “the only theory that can actually explain the mysteries of evolution.” The validity of these three claims is questioned by the argument that a more believable integration of evolutionary theory within integral theory is called for. This requires both an openness to criticism and more solid expertise in this specific field of science. Thus far, both of these features have been lacking within both Wilber’s writings and the integral community.
Tags: Visser, integral theory, evolution, Eros, evolutionary science, extended synthesis, modern synthesis
An Epistemic Thunderstorm: What We Learned and Failed to Learn from Jordan Peterson’s Rise to Fame
Jonathan Rowson
AbstractThe cultural pressure to endorse or reject public intellectuals wholesale can be problematic, perpetuating groupthink and diminishing scope for intellectual growth, societal maturation, and political imagination. On encountering public figures who appear to be both right and wrong, sometimes simultaneously, perhaps dangerously, there is scope to be more creative and less reactive in our response. In the illustrative case of Jordan Peterson, commentators often oriented their analysis within a conceptually moribund political spectrum; e.g. Peterson is “alt-right” attacking “the radical left.” Social media echo chambers lead some to read that Peterson’s “fanboys” were “misogynist trolls” while others heard that his critics were “virtue signaling snowflakes”. The tendency of print and broadcast media to seek a defining angle diminishes rather than distills complexity; for instance, Peterson’s fame was associated with a perceived crisis in masculinity, but that was not the whole story. “Petersonitis” is introduced here as a serious joke to describe the intellectual and emotional discomfort that arose from the author’s attempt to seek a fuller understanding of complex characters in a divisive political culture. In a response to Peterson’s book, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, twelve relatively dispassionate perspectives on his contribution are offered as an antidote to the language of allergy and infatuation that surrounded his rise to fame. Peterson is described here as symptomatic, multiphrenic, theatrical, solipsistic, sacralizing, hypervigilant, monocular, ideological, Manichean, Piagetian, masculine, and prismatic. First person language is used to reflect the author’s experience of Petersonitis, after having been drawn to Peterson’s online video lectures, debating with him in a public forum, and gradually clarifying the nature of the limitations in his outlook and approach. It is hoped that the paper will help readers recognize, recover from, and ultimately transcend Petersonitis, and to appreciate the much wider application of the idea.
Tags: reductionism, Piagetian, culture, public intellectuals, Rowson, transgender, Jordan Peterson, twitter, Books, Christianity, conversation, psychology, Jungian, spirituality, masculinity, postmodernism, media
