Latest news with #professor
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Gen Z heads home: How to navigate the evolving parent-child relationship as kids become adults
As a professor of child development and family science, every year I witness college students heading home for the holidays after a few months of relative independence. Anecdotally, most students express excitement about returning home and say they're looking forward to relaxing with family and friends. However, it also can present a challenge for parents and their grown children. Parents may wonder: 'What should I expect of my child when they return home after living away?' Adult children may be thinking: 'I'm an adult, but I'm in my parents' home. Do I need to ask permission to go out? Do I have a curfew?' The adult child's return home, even for a few days or weeks, may produce some stress for both generations. But, the parent-child relationship is always evolving, including negotiating – and renegotiating – power and control as children age. In fact, families have been preparing for these new role changes for years. Think about when children enter middle school. They spend less time under their parents' direct supervision. Parents must begin to find ways to stay connected with their children while encouraging independence. The challenge is the same with young adults, only their interests and the appropriate level of independence has changed. Generally speaking, the parent-child relationship is relatively stable over time. And the good news is that most people navigate this transition successfully. Understanding a bit more about what developmental and family scientists know about this time of life might help ease the path forward. Many countries and societies consider you an adult once you turn 18. However, neuroscience research reveals that parts of the brain that are crucial for adult skills such as planning ahead, decision-making and controlling impulses do not finish developing until the mid- or late 20s. So, from a psychological perspective, the onset of adulthood is not universal and not determined by a specific age. In 2000, psychologists introduced the concept of a period of development that spans ages 18 to 25: emerging adulthood. It's a kind of in-between period, when people say they don't feel fully adult. It's important to note that this developmental period is not something that everyone experiences. It's most common in Western or industrialized countries, though there is research on the experiences of emerging adults in other cultures. This period of exploration and experimentation, however, is a luxury not available to all, with adolescents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds reaching milestones of adulthood such as financial independence or parenthood earlier than those from more affluent backgrounds. But this life stage has become increasingly common in the 21st century, partly due to societal changes that give young adults more opportunities to explore identity and focus on themselves. For instance, the availability of birth control made sex without marriage more feasible for young adults. Many people take time before full-time work to pursue higher education. Today's young adults can experiment with ideas and opportunities that weren't available to them during adolescence. You can probably imagine why emerging adult children and their parents might butt heads when under the same roof. The two generations' differing opinions and ideals can set up conflict, especially when the child feels like an adult but the parent still sees them as a child. If parents can keep in mind that these young adult offspring are still navigating a distinct developmental phase, it may help them be supportive during this stage. When children leave the nest, the parent-child relationship goes through a period of adjustment. This is typical and, importantly, a necessary part of becoming an adult. There's likely to be a bit of trial and error for both the parent and the child as they figure out how to establish new ways of connecting and relating. But this isn't the first time in a child's life that a developmental transition has triggered the need for renegotiating the parent-child relationship. During adolescence, parents begin to provide their children with more freedom to make independent decisions; this requires parent and child to make adjustments in how they interact and relate to one another. Psychology researchers point to several qualities of healthy parent-adult child relationships. Parents need to get comfortable with a low level of control over what their grown kids do. Parents can expect to know less about their adult child's whereabouts when out for an evening and whom their adult child spends time with, something that parents monitor during adolescence. Maintaining a warm dynamic and encouraging independence are also key. Together, these attributes help parents promote success in their adult children, helping them grow into mentally healthy and well-adjusted members of society. These tweaks in approach may initially be uncomfortable for parents. But with a little effort, they can successfully make this transition. It helps if they've maintained a good relationship with their kid all along. Psychologists typically define effective parenting during emerging adulthood as a relationship characterized by providing warm emotional support; supporting the child in making their own decisions; and refraining from using guilt to change a child's beliefs. 1. Be flexible and don't compare. Every family is different, and each will navigate adult children returning home in unique ways. Likewise, there may be a need to adjust – and readjust – expectations and rules. Be comfortable with tweaking things to best suit your family. 2. Prepare by connecting. Discuss expectations from both generations before or shortly after the adult child returns home. Being proactive with communication will provide opportunities to connect and find common ground. 3. Establish boundaries and guardrails. Parents should communicate house rules for their adult children, and adult children should state their preferred boundaries. These guardrails should be developmentally appropriate and based on mutual respect. 4. Adjust expectations as needed. Parents should keep in mind that their child is in transition to adulthood. They should expect behavior that reflects having one foot in adolescence and the other in adulthood. Warm, supportive parenting continues to be a good influence on development through the emerging adulthood years. Therefore, it is not surprising that emerging adults continue to seek guidance from their parents. Most parents and adult children find their new, more egalitarian relationship lets them connect in new, more mature ways. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Amy Root, West Virginia University Read more: Life's stages are changing – we need new terms and new ideas to describe how adults develop and grow Yes, more and more young adults are living with their parents – but is that necessarily bad? How parents can play a key role in the prevention and treatment of teen mental health problems Amy Root receives funding from National Institute of Child, Health, and Human Development.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
A Prelude To The Ethics Of Artificial Intelligence
Gone are the days when your company or organization must decide if they will use artificial intelligence. It is now just a matter of how. With the vast increase of AI employment, it was inevitable that some ethically questionable use cases would pop-up. Students using chatbots like ChatGPT to write papers is an obvious example, but the reverse is equally worrying. As reported in The New York Times, a business professor at a Boston-area university was allegedly using ChatGPT to grade papers and mistakenly left the prompt in when returning the comments to students. Given the soaring cost of higher education, the student was understandably concerned, and requested a tuition refund for this course. While this situation is clearly ethically compromised - don't tell your students or employees not to use chatbots and then turn around and do it yourself - the majority of AI practices likely fall into a gray area. It would therefore be handy to have black-and-white ethical guidelines. In theory, not too much to ask. In practice, it would take an entire career of research, writing, and teaching to fully flesh out all the ethical implications associated with generative models. But there is a distinction that allows us to establish some general best practices when dealing with AI. The discussion of how to ethically approach artificial intelligence or machine learning began long before the actual technology emerged. The genesis can likely be traced to the landmark 1950 paper 'Computing Machinery and Intelligence' by Alan Turing. The paper introduced the concept of the Turing test, a method for determining whether a machine can exhibit what humans understand as intelligence. In simplest terms, the Turing test puts a machine behind a curtain and asks whether a human, asking it a series of questions on the other side of that curtain, can tell if it is a machine. If the person is not able to discern whether it is a machine or another person giving the responses, the machine passes the test. Nearly no machines can pass the Turing test. What we are left with is a technology that is not intelligent by human standards, and it is therefore an object. This determination then shapes the ethical conversation around that machine. You do not need to treat it as something with agency. Rather, it should be viewed as any other tool, a means to an end. Examples of this kind of object technology could include computers, telephones, or automobiles. The ethical questions that come up for these machines are not about the things in themselves but as objects for our use, such as issues of equality of access, any potential programming bias, or the privacy of the information they store. Although ChatGPT and other large language models may exhibit certain patterns in their responses that can help identify them as a machine - such as tone or consistency - they are far from easy to notice. A Stanford University study from last year confirms that ChatGPT did pass the Turing test, and the technology has only gotten better since. What this means is that ChatGPT and similar AI have human-like intelligence in that they are not discernibly different to the naked eye. In other words, we may have crossed into the machines as subjects-era. By extension, they should be treated as an end themselves. According to the 2007 AI Magazine article, 'Machine Ethics: Creating an Ethical Intelligent Agent,' treating A.I. as a subject means that ethical questions about them should be 'concerned with ensuring that the behavior of machines toward human users, and perhaps other machines as well, is ethically acceptable.' The ethical landscape here is about the things in themselves, how they behave, and how you act or relate to them, accounting for societal values, context, and logic. In other words, the ethics of human relationships. AI is bringing change in all areas of life. But is it a subject or an object? In subtle but significant ways, you can make a case for both. We can be sure it is not neutral. Only by solving this riddle can we deal with the difficult ethical questions that come with the technology.
Wall Street Journal
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
Jan Shipps, Methodist Who Brought Credibility to Mormon Studies, Dies at 95
Jan Shipps showed up unannounced one day in 1971 at the office of a history professor in Indianapolis. When he asked how he could help her, she blurted out: 'You can give me a job. I'm tired of sex and I want to get back to history.' Specifically, she wanted to get back to teaching history. And studying Mormons.
CBC
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Brian Cherwick has been playing music for 50 years. Here are some of the highlights
Brian Cherwick has worn many hats throughout his life. He's a folklore professor, has taught music, and can play almost any style of music. He's setting out to revisit his 50 years worth of songs for a special show with The Kubasonics.
Wall Street Journal
6 days ago
- Science
- Wall Street Journal
College Students Ride the AI Cheating Wave
Editor's note: In this Future View, students discuss artificial intelligence and cheating. Next we'll ask: 'Have you noticed DEI programs being canceled or scaled back at school? Is this good or bad?' Students should click here to submit opinions of fewer than 250 words by May 26. The best responses will be published Tuesday night. Why I Write Writing an undergraduate paper isn't about the actual paper. As an English major, I write to understand what I have read. Using artificial intelligence to write a term paper for my Shakespeare class wouldn't only be dishonest, it would rob me of my education. The odds of my saying something novel about 'To be or not to be' are about zero, and I know academia isn't hurting for the musings of a 20-year-old student fueled by energy drinks in the library at 2 a.m. I write not because anyone else needs to read my thoughts, but because I need to write them. Delivering a finished paper takes hours of reading, rereading, outlining, drafting and editing. Even then, as one of my professors said, papers are never really finished, they are only due. Writing may be draining, never perfect, but it's always rewarding. Slaving over term papers every semester for three years has made me a more careful reader, insightful thinker and articulate writer. When my professor grades my work, he judges the merit of my thought and engagement with the text. The page must reflect me, then, not the output of a chatbot. AI has its merits. The chatbot Grok can do a deep search faster than I can find someone on LinkedIn, and ChatGPT wrote me a better workout program than my personal trainer did. The technology may well improve the quality of work in many spheres, but the classroom isn't one of them. —Moira Gleason, Hillsdale College, English The Future of Medicine AI isn't cheating—it's preparation. As a medical student, I have found that success isn't measured by memorization but by the ability to make informed decisions that save lives. Increasingly, that means working alongside AI. Tools including ChatGPT, Gemini and Open Evidence are already helping clinicians navigate complex cases on hospital wards—whether it's by narrowing treatment options or summarizing the latest research on a rare disease. Research published in Nature has shown that a doctor using AI chatbots can often make better clinical decisions than a doctor working alone. Students cross an ethical line only when they use AI to avoid learning. A medical professional needs to know enough to use AI properly and safely. If a model 'hallucinates' and a doctor doesn't realize it, mistakes can slip by. That's dangerous in the classroom and the clinic. But there's a clear difference between outsourcing thinking and using AI to enhance it. Medical schools shouldn't only allow AI—they have a duty to teach how to use it responsibly. Generative AI can simulate patient scenarios, break down difficult concepts or offer alternative ways of thinking. The next generation of physicians must know how to collaborate with AI, critically question its output and integrate it safely into patient care. That isn't cheating. That's learning that prepares students for the future of medicine. —Dhruva Gupta, Harvard University, medicine Why Attend Class? Students in college have begun unloading their coursework completely onto AI. It has become an excuse not to attend class at all; a chatbot already knows all it needs to complete your coursework. Using AI to write an essay or complete an assignment negates the entire point of education—all while disadvantaging students who actually put time and effort into earning their degrees. The widespread use of AI pushes students to rely on chatbots to keep up with their peers. AI is valuable when it isn't used to complete assignments for students. Its ability to compile information quickly to create study guides or explain course material can assist a student's learning. Unfortunately, the majority of students aren't using AI with such intentions. —Patryk Zielinski, University of Connecticut, economics Education Must Evolve As generative AI tools become more sophisticated, our definition of academic dishonesty and cheating must evolve. Using AI to help review, write or structure essays and problem sets isn't inherently dishonest. Cheating implies an unfair advantage; that you used prohibited means not available to others. But AI tools are becoming as ubiquitous as calculators. What matters is how educators design assignments, and how teachers shift their focus from assessing rote knowledge to assessing critical skills. These new tools should prompt a re-evaluation of our educational goals. If a chatbot can produce a coherent response to a question instantly, perhaps that question no longer reflects meaningful understanding. Rather than testing easily searchable facts, teachers should design assessments that demand analytical thinking, synthesis and original insight—the skills AI can't fully replicate. In a world in which AI is universally accessible, the abilities students need to cultivate are different. Schools need to adapt to that reality. Rather than lowering standards, AI can raise them, redefining what it means to learn. —Shira Shturman, Reichman University, law Click here to submit a response to next week's Future View.
