Trajectories of Internalizing Problems in War‐Affected Sierra Leonean Youth: Examining Conflict and Postconflict Factors

Three waves of data from a prospective longitudinal study in Sierra Leone were used to examine internalizing trajectories in 529 war‐affected youth (ages 10–17 at baseline; 25% female). Latent class growth analyses identified 4 trajectories: A large majority of youth maintained lower levels of internalizing problems (41.4%) or significantly improved over time (47.6%) despite very limited access to care, but smaller proportions continued to report severe difficulties 6 years postwar (4.5%) or their symptoms worsened (6.4%). Continued internalizing problems were associated with loss of a caregiver, family abuse and neglect, and community stigma. Despite the comparative resilience of most war‐affected youth in the face of extreme adversity, there remains a compelling need for interventions that address family‐ and community‐level stressors.     

Early impact and outcomes of an institutionally aligned,student focused learning perspective on teaching quality assurance1

This paper describes an evidence‐based quality assurance system for teaching and learning, which takes as its starting point a well‐researched theoretical perspective on student learning in higher education. We argue this explicit use of a relevant theoretical base promotes coherence between quality assurance and improvement processes. We outline the principal features of our university's quality assurance strategy, systems and processes, and describe how the university's teaching quality assurance policy and systems have been implemented. We then consider the extent to which the project has achieved its goals of fostering an evidence‐based approach to teaching consistent with the student learning perspective on which the policy and systems are based. We also present data on student learning experiences showing reliable changes in the quality of the student learning experience. We discuss the applied significance of these changes, with a particular focus on changes in the experiences of commencing first year university students.     

A study of race and gender bias in the punishment of handicapped school children

There is scant research concerned about punishment of handicapped, minority students in public schools. The purpose of this study was to investigate race and gender, types of rules violations, types of punishments, referral rates, referral frequencies, and follow-up activities to determine differences in treatment by race, sex, and handicapping condition. The sample consisted of 4,391 discipline files representing records from 9 schools in a district (K-12). All data were analyzed using the Chi Square statistic. It was demonstrated that racial bias existed in the administration of punishment, and that Black, male handicapped students were punished more severely than others for commission of the same offenses.     

Addressing the Need for Management Processes for Higher Education Accreditation

The accreditation standards of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) ask business schools to describe consistent processes that provide for operational consistency and continuous improvement in support of the schools' stated missions. Such practices are beneficial to all institutions of higher education seeking accreditation or reaffirmation. This article addresses the identification of requisite processes, describes an approach for defining them, and suggests a format for documenting their essential elements. We discuss the value of quality management practices to higher education and present caveats and considerations for successfully implementing this methodology.     

A Critical Review of Line Graphs in Behavior Analytic Journals

Visual displays such as graphs have played an instrumental role in psychology. One discipline relies almost exclusively on graphs in both applied and basic settings, behavior analysis. The most common graphic used in behavior analysis falls under the category of time series. The line graph represents the most frequently used display for visual analysis and subsequent interpretation and communication of experimental findings. Behavior analysis, like the rest of psychology, has opted to use non-standard line graphs. Therefore, the degree to which graphical quality occurs remains unknown. The current article surveys the essential structure and quality features of line graphs in behavioral journals. Four thousand three hundred and thirteen graphs from 11 journals served as the sample. Results of the survey indicate a high degree of deviation from standards of graph construction and proper labeling. A discussion of the problems associated with graphing errors, future directions for graphing in the field of behavior analysis, and the need for standards adopted for line graphs follows.     

Instrumental electrodermal conditioning in the monkey (Cebus albifrons): Acquisition and long-term retention

EightCebus albifrons monkeys received 25 sessions of discriminative operant conditioning of the skin conductance response (SCR), with colored lights as discriminative stimuli and with Sidman avoidance (SS-40 sec, RS-40 sec) scheduled during one light and response-contingent shock during the other, Discriminative stimulus segments were separated by 30-sec periods of time-out from shocks and lights, Two extinction sessions were run 3 months after training, Almost from the beginning of conditioning, the monkeys made significantly more unelicited skin conductance responses in the avoidance periods than in punishment, The monkeys’ heart rates also increased significantly, but there was no difference between avoidance and punishment, SCR frequency during extinction continued to differentiate significantly between avoidance and punishment, and there was a significant increase in this differentiation from the last conditioning session to the first extinction session, but the difference then reduced in the second session, The results indicated that monkey’s SCRs are influenced by instrumental reinforcement contingencies somewhat in the same fashion as those of humans.