Mobile innovations, executive functions, and educational developments in conflict zones: a case study from Palestine

Prior research suggests that exposure to conflict can negatively impact the development of executive functioning, which in turn can affect academic performance. Recognizing the need to better understand the potentially widespread executive function deficiencies among Palestinian students and to help develop educational resources targeted to youth in conflict-affected areas, we utilize mobile devices to assess correlates of executive functions among Palestinian youth from varied socioeconomic backgrounds. We developed and examined two types of executive functioning tasks with a sample of 185 Palestinian youth, aged 6–16. Our findings confirm that students in schools that are more exposed to the effects of the political conflict have lower levels of executive functioning. We also found that the advantages of being in an urban environment are strong predictors of performance on executive function exercises, but that a high exposure-risk to political violence negatively detracts from planning-related executive functioning. Lastly, we found that living in urban environment is positively correlated with better mental planning performance (i.e., planning before taking actions) whereas being in a private school is a stronger predictor of mental flexibility (i.e., dynamically adapting to changing rules of the game). We also suggest a few strategies for future research.     

Post-traumatic stress disorder: a reaction to state-supported child abuse and neglect

The policy of apartheid not only fosters conditions conducive to child abuse and neglect, but is in itself abusive. Apartheid policies have led to civil unrest and high levels of violence in South Africa's black townships. Many youth are thus exposed to multiple trauma including witnessing death, being arrested, being beaten, being in exile, and being separated from family and friends. This had led many to develop Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) although this term is a misnomer in the South African context as traumatic stress is not historic but is current. Treatment programs have thus to be modified to accommodate the impossibility of guaranteeing even the physical safety of patients. They have also to be modified to accommodate the fact that most black youth are totally unfamiliar with the notion of the "talking cure." This paper describes a modified treatment program for PTSD which was developed in working with a group of 60 township refugees. Systematic follow up studies of its effectiveness were impossible as many of those treated have gone into hiding to escape the continuing violence in their communities, a violence facilitated by the ultimate guardian of the child, the State. However there are indications that the program was successful in providing immediate relief.     

Ikasi style and the quiet violence of dreams: a critique of youth belonging in post-Apartheid South Africa

Drawing on empirical data from two recent research studies in post-Apartheid South Africa, this paper asks what it means to be poor, young and black, and belong in a society that has suffered debilitating and dehumanising racial subjugation, actively excluding people from citizenship, and how poverty serves to perpetuate this exclusion. It examines the notions of citizenship and belonging and asks what are the meanings and markers of both in a country like South Africa. It focuses on alternative modes of belonging adopted by young people – in this case dreaming and adopting what they term ikasi style. The paper then shows how structural and symbolic violence are complicit in silencing the dreams and aspirations of poor youth, before expanding Ramphele and Brown's notion of ‘woundedness’ to consider its implications for citizenship and belonging. It concludes with modest recommendations regarding how this state of affairs might be redressed within educational and policy contexts.     

Locating Economic Risks for Adolescent Mental and Behavioral Health: Poverty and Affluence in Families,Neighborhoods, and Schools

Research has identified risks of both poverty and affluence for adolescents. This study sought to clarify associations between income and youth mental and behavioral health by delineating economic risks derived from family, neighborhood, and school contexts within a nationally representative sample of high school students (N = 13,179, average age 16). Attending schools with more affluent schoolmates was associated with heightened likelihoods of intoxication, drug use, and property crime, but youth at poorer schools reported greater depressive and anxiety symptoms, engagement in violence, and for male adolescents, more frequent violence and intoxication. Neighborhood and family income were far less predictive. Results suggest that adolescent health risks derive from both ends of the economic spectrum, and may be largely driven by school contexts.     

The politics of mergers in higher education in South Africa

How do political forces come together to influence merger forms and outcomes? This question is posed in a context of an analysis of the forms and outcomes of three “case studies” of mergers that took place in South Africa in the past decade. The theoretical stance, borne out by the data under review, places political actors at the centre of the explanation for change and continuity in the merger of institutions. While there are clearly broad lessons that could apply in other national contexts, the paper recognises that the fact that most published studies on mergers originate in established economies like those of Norway, Australia, England, the USA. The paper poses the question, therefore: do mergers follow different processes and deliver different outcomes in the social, economic and political contexts of third world institutions?     

Studying conflict,violence and peace in African universities

The aims of this article are to present the case for the study of conflict, violence and peace in African universities and to discuss ways by which this might be organised. It begins with a discussion of the meanings of conflict, violence and peace, as used in the discipline of peace studies. The case for studying peace is then laid out, with particular reference to the beliefs that non-violent ways of resolving conflict are effective and can be learned. The nature and extent of peace studies in African universities is then surveyed and ideas are presented concerning the content of peace studies modules. A distinction is drawn between peace studies and political science; the former emphasises the importance of structural violence, that the means used to build peace must be consistent with the ends aimed for and that students can learn to adopt peace as a way of life. The article concludes by examining five ways of setting up a peace studies programme.     

Waging War on Children and Youth through Schooling Disruption

Education and its subsequent schooling component are among the most formative developments experienced by children and youth. It is an extremely important instrument for developing cognitive skills, for cultivating mechanisms of acceptable societal functioning and for ideological orientations. This factor is recognized by international treaties and conventions which guarantee that children and youth are entitled to a positive and safe schooling experience. However, the twentieth century began and ended with conflict. This societal propensity creates havoc on education systems in terms of two strategies: one, the total destruction of schooling or, two, schooling where an oppressor takes over governing and attempts re‐indoctrination. The question posed in this research paper is: How does schooling become disrupted due to political conflict situations? Historical antecedents indicate that a consistent evolution of the factors leading to repetitious schooling disruption emerges due to political conflict. This pattern is characterized by basic common macro factors but with some micro variables due to geographic locations. In this paper it will be argued that political conflict causes schooling disruption. The steps that unfold toward schooling disruption will be identified as a pattern that feeds the Richardson Schooling Disruption Model (RDSm).     

The role of school health instruction in preventing interpersonal violence

The social and human costs of youth violence are staggering. Reducing violence among youth will require a multifaced approach, including educational strategies aimed at reducing the prevalence of high risk behaviors associated with youth violence. This article examines the role of school health instruction in preventing interpersonal violence. Specifically, this article provides an overview of comprehensive school health education; suggests instructional content for violence prevention education; explores options for administering violence prevention education; discusses theoretical frameworks supporting education strategies; provides criteria for selecting violence prevention curricula and mateirals; examines possible limitations and barriers to violence prevention education; and provides recommendations for implementing programs. Though classroom health instruction should not be expected to solve problems associated with youth violence, prevention education needs to be delivered within the context of comprehensive school health education.     

社会冲突与制度调适

社会冲突是社会的常态,关键是要实施有效管理。社会冲突的管理失败,会导致严重的社会暴力冲突。而社会冲突管理的成败,从根本上来说取决于政治制度的是否民主。只有民主制度才能减少并及时疏导社会冲突,预防社会暴力冲突。要预防社会暴力冲突,要有效管理社会冲突,需要探索合理的民主制度。在中国,扩大党内民主,完善人民民主,探索行政民主,都是需要思考的方向。     

The effects of exposure to violence and victimization across life domains on adolescent substance use

This study uses longitudinal data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) to examine the effects of exposure to school violence, community violence, child abuse, and parental intimate partner violence (IPV) on youths’ subsequent alcohol and marijuana use. We also examine the cumulative effects of being exposed to violence across these domains. Longitudinal data were obtained from 1,655 adolescents and their primary caregivers participating in the PHDCN. The effects of adolescents’ exposure to various forms of violence across different life domains were examined relative to adolescents’ frequency of alcohol and marijuana use three years later. Multivariate statistical models were employed to control for a range of child, parent, and family risk factors. Exposure to violence in a one-year period increased the frequency of substance use three years later, though the specific relationships between victimization and use varied for alcohol and marijuana use. Community violence and child abuse, but not school violence or exposure to IPV, were predictive of future marijuana use. None of the independent measures of exposure to violence significantly predicted future alcohol use. Finally, the accumulation of exposure to violence across life domains was detrimental to both future alcohol and marijuana use. The findings support prior research indicating that exposure to multiple forms of violence, across multiple domains of life, negatively impacts adolescent outcomes, including substance use. The findings also suggest that the context in which exposure to violence occurs should be considered in future research, since the more domains in which youth are exposed to violence, the fewer “safe havens” they have available. Finally, a better understanding of the types of violence youth encounter and the contexts in which these experiences occur can help inform intervention efforts aimed at reducing victimization and its negative consequences.     

马克思的社会历史线性演化逻辑及其语境

马克思在《资本论》中提出了政治经济学命题:"工业较发达的国家向工业较不发达的国家所显示的,只是后者未来的景象。"这一命题内含经济哲学内容,概括性表述是社会历史线性演化逻辑。在马克思文献中,该逻辑存在于四种语境即原生态语境、一般性理论语境、东方特定社会历史情势语境和俄国特定社会历史情势语境之中。不同语境中表现出来的逻辑样态各异,后人理解成百家争鸣之势,但其中有的内容被忽略,如东方特定社会历史情势语境中的外力论;有的内容被主观性解读,如俄国特定社会历史情势语境中农业公社命运的例外论。这种理论情势给马克思主义研究者提出了问题:一般性理论语境中的社会历史线性演化逻辑是否具有普遍适用性?东方特定社会历史情势语境中的外力论与一般性理论语境中的社会历史线性演化逻辑是什么关系?俄国特定社会历史情势语境中的例外论是马克思基本立场吗?如果是,该立场与一般性理论语境中的社会历史线性演化逻辑相冲突如何解释?为了维护一般性理论语境中社会历史线性演化逻辑的纯正性,语境问题成为必须在自觉意识层面被关注和研究的对象。研究不同语境中马克思原生态社会历史线性演化逻辑思想,是应当被提上议事日程的任务。     

The Protective Role of Group Identity: Sectarian Antisocial Behavior and Adolescent Emotion Problems

The protective role of strength of group identity was examined for youth in a context of protracted political conflict. Participants included 814 adolescents (M_age = 13.61, SD = 1.99 at Time 1) participating in a longitudinal study in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Utilizing hierarchical linear modeling, the results show that the effect of exposure to sectarian antisocial behaviors has a stronger effect on youth emotion problems for older adolescents. The results also show that youth with higher strength of group identity reported fewer emotion problems in the face of sectarian antisocial behavior but that this buffering effect is stronger for Protestants compared to Catholics. Implications are discussed for understanding the role of social identity in postaccord societies.     

The Leadership of Transition: Correction, Conciliation and Change in South African Education

This paper focuses on educational leadership in the context of social transition to post-apartheid democracy in South Africa. Transitional leaders manifest behaviours, attitudes, values and strategies that are deeply related to the contexts within which they work. Social norms and political climate may not be supportive of educational leaders wishing to rise to the challenge of unplanned transition; however this paper focuses on leaders who take up this challenge. Narratives of three educational leaders, two white and one black, provide an understanding of the complexities and challenges involved in bringing about change that goes against the grain of social, community, or institutional expectations. Five common strands that bind the narratives of the three leaders are revealed. These commonalities are: a sense of moral purpose, a sense of human frailty, a sense of racial inclusion, a sense of political complexity, and a sense of personal growth. In conclusion, seven propositions that may form the building blocks for new ways of thinking about leadership in post conflict societies are presented.     

Sexual violence and youth in South Africa: the need for community-based prevention interventions

OBJECTIVES: South Africa is reported to have one of the highest rates of sexual violence in the world, with adolescent girls between the ages of 12-17 being particularly at risk. Given that adolescence is considered a critical developmental period for establishing normative sexual behavior, this study explored multiple levels of risk influences that render adolescent girls vulnerable to becoming victims of sexual violence and adolescent boys vulnerable to becoming perpetrators of such abuse in one South African community. METHOD: A case study approach using qualitative rapid focused ethnographic methods was used. This involved 10 focus group interviews and 10 individual interviews with a volunteer convenience sample of adolescent boys and girls between the ages of 14 and 16 years. RESULTS: Inductive thematic analysis revealed that there were indeed multiple levels of risk influences for adolescent girls and boys becoming either victims or perpetrators of sexual violence. Using the Theory of Triadic Influence as a framework, influences at the distal socio-cultural/environmental level included traditional notions of masculinity and normalization of inter-personal violence as well as poverty and the commodification of sex leading to rape supportive attitudes. Influences at the proximal situation context/social normative level included high-risk social norms as well as a weak adult and community protective shield. Finally, influences at the intra-personal level included low self-esteem and self-efficacy as well as inter-personal affective anger. CONCLUSION: Given the multiple levels of risk influences that need to be addressed to protect youth from becoming either perpetrators or victims of sexual violence in the South African context, prevention programs should necessarily be comprehensive, developmentally timed, and community-based.     

Diffusion of the National Qualifications Framework and outcomes‐based education in southern and eastern Africa

This article explores policy and curriculum diffusion in southern and eastern Africa through an examination of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and outcomes‐based education. The article argues that the NQF was adopted for different reasons in different contexts, but that discourse coalitions and conferences have been critical in spreading these ideas in a new regional political and economic context. It shows how South Africans have tried to export the idea at the very moment when evidence is revealing little relationship between policy intention and outcome, it is contested at home, and there is a retreat from it in some sectors of education.     

Relations Among Father's Presence,Family Conflict,and Adolescent Adjustment in Northern Ireland

Burgeoning evidence identifies the influence of fathers and, relatedly, fathers in the family context (e.g., family conflict), on adolescent adjustment. However, little is known about the significance of fathers’ presence in contexts of environmental risk. In a unique social–political context of economic and sociopolitical adversity, this study examined relations between adolescent adjustment, fathers’ presence, and family conflict in families in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Based on responses from 999 adolescents (M = 12.18 years; SD = 1.82) and their mothers, participating from 2006 to 2012, fathers’ presence was linked with reduced internalizing symptoms, and family conflict was related to both internalizing and externalizing problems. The discussion considers the implications for understanding family dynamics related to adolescent adjustment in contexts of environmental adversity.     

Severe Youth Violence: Developmental Perspectives Introduction to the Special Section

In this article, the authors introduce the special section on severe youth violence (SYV). As severe violence has significant negative consequences and youth commit more violence than other age groups, a developmental science approach is important to (a) understand pathways to SYV, (b) guide attempts to screen and assess SYV risk, and (c) inform novel, developmentally sensitive practices and policies to prevent and reduce SYV. The authors establish the theoretical and empirical contexts for the articles in this special section and explain how this developmental research on SYV can inform new lines of theoretical and empirical inquiry and innovative approaches to detect and respond to the risk of SYV.     

Desegregation,Racial Conflict and Education for Democracy in the New South Africa: A Case Study of Institutional Change

Education under apartheid in South Africa was characterised by racism and segregation. Since the first democratic election in 1994 a process of racial desegregation has begun in South African schools. However, desegregation is not the same as integration. Given the historical context of South Africa, simply mixing students from different racial groups in one school is likely to result in racial conflict and violence unless the structure and processes of schooling are changed at the same time. This article examines the experience of one school in South Africa which has not only desegregated its intake but has also attempted to democratise its management structures in order to teach democratic values through experience and in particular to foster a climate of mutual respect among students so as to decrease racial distrust. So far, the changes appear to be successful but there are a number of important lessons to be learned.     

The Effects of Political Violence on Palestinian Children's Behavior Problems: A Risk Accumulation Model

Interviews with 150 Palestinian mothers and their children living amidst the Intifada in the West Bank were conducted to assess exposure to political violence and family negativity as risk factors associated with behavioral problems as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist. The number of risks present in the child's life was significantly correlated with the number of behavioral problems the child exhibited ( R = .53, p < .001). The analysis further examined the role of gender, age, and community context in moderating the impact of high levels of accumulated risk on children's behavioral problems. Under conditions of high accumulated risk, boys evidenced more problems than girls, and younger children exhibited more problems than older children. Community context (as indicated by a high or low level of political violence) was a significant factor for girls but not for boys.