Factors related to the underachievement of university students in Turkey

The study aims to elucidate the characteristics of gifted underachievers at the university level and the reasons for their underachievement. The sample consisted of students from Bogazici University in Istanbul. The School Attitude Assessment Survey‐Revised (SAAS‐R) instrument was administered to 91 underachievers and a comparison group of 74 university students. The instrument employed five subscales: academic self‐perceptions, attitudes toward teachers, attitudes toward school, goal valuation, and motivation/self‐regulation. Findings indicated that the comparison students and the underachieving students differed on all five subscales of the SAAS‐R. In addition, the instrument correctly classified almost 80% of the students in the present sample as either underachievers or comparison students. Among the five subscales, the motivation/self‐regulation subscale was most predictive of underachievement status.     

Patients reporting ritual abuse in childhood: a clinical syndrome. Report of 37 cases

Thirty-seven adult dissociative disorder patients who reported ritual abuse in childhood by satanic cults are described. Patients came from a variety of separate clinical settings and geographical locations and reported a number of similar abuses. The most frequently reported types of ritual abuse are outlined, and a clinical syndrome is presented which includes dissociative states with satanic overtones, severe post-traumatic stress disorder, survivor guilt, bizarre self abuse, unusual fears, sexualization of sadistic impulses, indoctrinated beliefs, and substance abuse. Questions relating to issues of reliability, credibility and verifiability are addressed in depth, and the findings and implications are discussed.     

Factors related to doctoral dissertation topic selection

Although the completed doctoral dissertation represents the culmination of a doctoral program, is often published in journal articles, and serves as the foundation of the early research career of the author, the dissertation has received relatively little attention as a subject of research in its own right. To learn more about how students select their dissertation topics, all doctoral graduates of a major midwestern research university over the one year period from spring quarter, 1986, through winter quarter, 1987, were surveyed. Results indicate that a number of factors influence the selection of a dissertation topic, but not surprisingly the most important is the student's own preference. The factors affecting the choice of topics include the preference of the adviser, trends in the field, the likelihood that the research will be published, and the projected benefit of the research on the student's job prospects. The importance of the factors vary by field and in some cases by gender. When students select their topic and the extent to which the adviser and dissertation committees are responsive to the student also vary by field.     

Delay in disclosure of childhood rape: results from a national survey

OBJECTIVE: This study sought to gather representative data regarding the length of time women who were raped before age 18 delayed prior to disclosing such rapes, whom they disclosed to, and variables that predicted disclosure within 1 month. METHOD: Data were gathered from 3,220 Wave II respondents from the National Women's Study (Resnick, Kilpatrick, Dansky, Saunders, & Best, 1993), a nationally representative telephone survey of women's experiences with trauma and mental health. Of these, 288 retrospectively reported at least one rape prior to their 18th birthday. Details of rape experiences were analyzed to identify predictors of disclosure within 1 month. RESULTS: Fully 28% of child rape victims reported that they had never told anyone about their child rape prior to the research interview; 47% did not disclose for over 5 years post-rape. Close friends were the most common confidants. Younger age at the time of rape, family relationship with the perpetrator, and experiencing a series of rapes were associated with disclosure latencies longer than 1 month; shorter delays were associated with stranger rapes. Logistic regression revealed that age at rape and knowing the perpetrator were independently predictive of delayed disclosure. CONCLUSIONS: Delayed disclosure of childhood rape was very common, and long delays were typical. Few variables were identified that successfully predicted disclosure behavior, but older age and rape by a stranger were associated with more rapid disclosure. This suggests that the likelihood of disclosure in a given case is difficult to estimate, and predictions based on single variables are unwarranted.     

Factors related to study success in engineering education

Recent studies on student learning in higher education have paid attention to the relationships between characteristics of the learning environment and students' study orientations and study success. The purpose of the present paper is to examine these relationships in university level engineering education. The data were collected from Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland, by means of an Internet survey (n=394). Grade point average, credits per semester and students' qualitative evaluation of their learning outcomes were used as indicators of study success. The findings of the study indicate that students' perceptions of their learning environment were related to their study orientations which, in turn, were related to study success. Having a deep study strategy was the most important predictor of study success. Having a surface strategy, doubt about one's abilities and lack of regulation were factors negatively related to study success. Meaning-oriented and self-regulated students using a deep strategy showed the best success in their studies and externally regulated students using a surface strategy the worst. The findings of the study suggest that the learning environments in Lappeenranta University of Technology encourage deep learning.     

Touching the screen: issues related to the use of touchscreen technology in early childhood education

This paper reports on a research project that investigated the use of touchscreens by children in early childhood and junior primary settings by introducing touchscreens in five classrooms in Melbourne. Several methods to obtain information about how children interacted with the touchscreens were used including observation, journals and field notes, and interviews. The research identified five key themes, relating to developmental issues, input device preference, technical issues, individual differences in children's use of the touchscreen and issues of collaboration.     

Factors related to attrition from trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy

Attrition from child trauma-focused treatments such as Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is common; yet, the factors of children who prematurely terminate are unknown. The aim of the current study was to identify risk factors for attrition from TF-CBT. One hundred and twenty-two children (ages 3–18; M = 9.97, SD = 3.56; 67.2% females; 50.8% Caucasian) who received TF-CBT were included in the study. Demographic and family variables, characteristics of the trauma, and caregiver- and child-reported pretreatment symptoms levels were assessed in relation to two operational definitions of attrition: 1) clinician-rated dropout, and 2) whether the child received an adequate dose of treatment (i.e., 12 or more sessions). Several demographic factors, number of traumatic events, and children’s caregiver-rated pretreatment symptoms were related to clinician-rated dropout. Fewer factors were associated with the adequate dose definition. Child Protective Services involvement, complex trauma exposure, and child-reported pretreatment trauma symptoms were unrelated to either attrition definition. Demographics, trauma characteristics, and level of caregiver-reported symptoms may help to identify clients at risk for premature termination from TF-CBT. Clinical and research implications for different operational definitions and suggestions for future work will be presented.     

Factors related to inequality in participation in schooling in Java

The study uses data from a census survey, augmented by school enrolment statistics, to analyse factors related to inequality in participation in schooling in Indonesia. It is argued that the census-type survey provides a very useful means by which participation can be monitored in developing countries and it also provides a particularly valuable basis on which to examine relationships between socio-economic and, to a lesser extent, educational variables and participation. The results obtained indicate that while some socio-economic characteristics of families are the source of expected significant inequalities, other characteristics, such as sex differences and the distinction between farm and non-farm families, do not relate to participation for certain levels of schooling and in urban areas.     

Factors related to the decision of men and women to continue taking science courses in college

The purpose of this study was to determine the importance of the transition between a student's initial collegiate science experience and the decision to continue in science, and whether the reasons students give to explain their success or failure in their first course are related to that decision. Attribution theory provided the framework for investigating these factors. The results showed that for unsuccessful students, the plan to continue in science was unrelated to gender, mathematical aptitude, performance in the first science course, or attributions to luck, effort, ability, or task difficulty. For successful students, the plan to continue in science was directly related to attributions to ability, and inversely related to task difficulty. The results demonstrate the importance of a sense of competence for students who continue in science.     

Factors protecting against the development of adjustment difficulties in young adults exposed to childhood sexual abuse

Objective: The aims of this study were to identify the factors which discriminated young people exposed to childhood sexual abuse (CSA) who developed psychiatric disorder or adjustment difficulties in young adulthood from those young people exposed to CSA who did not develop psychiatric disorder or adjustment difficulties by age 18.Method: Data were gathered on a birth cohort of 1,025 New Zealand children studied from birth to the age of 18 on (a) exposure to CSA; (b) patterns of psychiatric disorder and adjustment difficulties at age 18 years; (c) factors that may have influenced responses to CSA including characteristics of the abuse, parental bonding, parental characteristics, and adolescent peer affiliations.Results: Just over 10% of the cohort reported CSA. Those reporting CSA were at increased risks of a range of difficulties at age 18 (depression, anxiety, conduct disorder, alcohol abuse/dependence, other substance abuse/dependence, post sexual abuse trauma, attempted suicide). However, not all of those exposed to CSA developed difficulties and approximately a quarter of those exposed to CSA did not meet criteria for any adjustment difficulty. Further analysis suggested that the extent of adjustment difficulties in those exposed to CSA was influenced by two additional factors: (a) the extent of affiliations with delinquent or substance using peers in adolescence; and (b) the extent of paternal care or support in childhood.Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that while young people exposed to CSA are at increased risks of psychiatric disorder and adjustment difficulties in young adulthood, not all individuals exposed to CSA will develop adjustment difficulties. Important factors protecting against the development of adjustment difficulties in young people experiencing CSA appear to be the nature and quality of peer and family relationships.     

影响学生进行化学探究性学习的因素与建议

从教学实例出发,通过分析比较两种不同类型的学生在化学探究活动中学习行为的不同,探讨影响学生进行化学探究性学习的主要因素,并提出相应建议。     

Factors related to professional development of English language university teachers in Thailand

Professional development is deemed necessary for university teachers at all levels, as it helps to enhance teaching quality. However, the extent of English language university teachers’ professional development might depend on a number of factors. This paper reports on a study investigating English language university teachers’ professional development in Thailand, the factors related to their development, the activities they used and the obstacles they encountered. The study was conducted through the use of a questionnaire to collect data from 217 full-time English language university teachers at 14 universities in Bangkok metropolis, selected through the multi-stage sampling technique. The results indicate that the overall mean score of Thai university teachers’ professional development was at a moderate level, and the factors of gender, academic title, degree and job responsibility were not related to professional development. Only one factor, university type, was found to be related to their development. This means that private university teachers had more professional development than those in Rajabhat and government universities. Discussing or sharing knowledge with colleagues was the activity they used to develop themselves most, with heavy teaching loads being the main obstacle. In addition, students’ background knowledge was the main obstacle to implementation of the received knowledge in teaching.     

Factors related to resilience of academically gifted students in the chinese cultural and educational environment

This study examined variables in three domains (personal, parent support, and peer support) for their relationships with the resilience of academically gifted students in the Chinese cultural and educational environment. The participants were 484 academically gifted students in two highly competitive secondary schools (so‐called “key” schools) in a metropolitan city in southern China. The constructs measured in the personal domain were resilience, hope, creativity, and curiosity. The constructs measured in the domain of parent support were parent trust, parent communication, and parent alienation. The constructs measured in the peer support domain were peer trust, peer communication, and peer alienation. Three nested regression models showed that the personal constructs (hope, creativity, and curiosity) were all related to the resilience of the academically gifted students. Parent support variables did not exhibit predictive effects over and above that of the personal constructs, but peer support variables did show additional predictive effects over and beyond personal variables and parent support variables. Explanations and implications were discussed for the findings, and some limitations of the study were also discussed.     

从法社会学的视角看"婚内强奸"

婚内强奸是个值得关注的社会现状,婚内无奸的说法在现代社会是站不住脚的.而且为了更好地维护妇女权利,促使妇女自身的独立,有必要确立婚内强奸的犯罪化.