Suicide prevention: Guidelines for schools

Adolescent suicide is escalating, especially among White male teenagers who use drugs and/or alcohol, are depressed or cognitively rigid, have maladaptive families, have experienced recent loss, misunderstand death, and know a suicide victim. Teachers can foster suicide resistance by developing teens' cognitive deterrents and encouraging adaptive coping strategies. Recommended assessment tools for potentially suicidal children and teens include the Reasons for Living Inventory and the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire. For teachers, intervention strategies include listening empathically, asking directly about potential suicide, and breaking confidentiality in cases of an actively suicidal child or teenager. Administratively, helpful strategies are hot lines, suicide prevention training modules, and publicity of popular students' adaptive responses to stress such as drug rehabilitation or therapy. After suicide, administrators should work to diminish survivor guilt, minimize scapegoating, and prevent contagion.     

The effects of teaching notetaking strategies on elementary students’ science learning

The research examined effects of notetaking instruction on elementary-aged students’ abilities to recall science information and their notetaking behaviors. Classes of eight to nine years old third grade students were randomly assigned to three treatment conditions: strategic notetaking, partial strategic notetaking, and control, for four training sessions. The effects of the notetaking instruction were measured by their performances on a test about science information, a long-term free recall of the information, and the number of information units recalled with or without cues. Students’ prior science achievement was used to group students into two levels (high vs. low) and functioned as another independent variable in analysis. Results indicated significant treatment effect in favor of the strategy notetaking instruction groups on cued and non-cued recall of the information units. Students with higher prior achievement in science performed better on cued recall and long-term free recall of information. The results suggest that students as young as those in third grade classes can be instructed to develop notetaking ability that promotes their learning.     

Engaging Middle-Grade Students to Learn in a Caring Community

Middle-level students have unique emotional and academic needs. As a result, it is important for middle-level educators to realize these needs when creating a caring and engaging classroom climate that results in successful student achievement. This article describes the Caring Community Teaching Model (CCTM), which is a synthesis of affective teaching as well as learning practices tailored to meet the unique needs of middle-grade students. The CCTM is designed as a program with a two-function approach to enhance student engagement: (1) caring relationships and (2) instructional strategies. The authors describe the theoretical framework that underpins the CCTM as well as the emerging literature that creates its needs. Additionally, the CCTM is highlighted through the lens of a case example in which the authors provide concrete examples of CCTM being used in a middle-level classroom.     

Inequity aversion in dogs: a review

The study of inequity aversion in animals debuted with a report of the behaviour in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). This report generated many debates following a number of criticisms. Ultimately, however, the finding stimulated widespread interest, and multiple studies have since attempted to demonstrate inequity aversion in various other non-human animal species, with many positive results in addition to many studies in which no response to inequity was found. Domestic dogs represent an interesting case as, unlike many primates, they do not respond negatively to inequity in reward quality but do, however, respond negatively to being unrewarded in the presence of a rewarded partner. Numerous studies have been published on inequity aversion in dogs in recent years. Combining three tasks and seven peer-reviewed publications, over 140 individual dogs have been tested in inequity experiments. Consequently, dogs are one of the best studied species in this field and could offer insights into inequity aversion in other non-human animal species. In this review, we summarise and critically evaluate the current evidence for inequity aversion in dogs. Additionally, we provide a comprehensive discussion of two understudied aspects of inequity aversion, the underlying mechanisms and the ultimate function, drawing on the latest findings on these topics in dogs while also placing these developments in the context of what is known, or thought to be the case, in other non-human animal species. Finally, we highlight gaps in our understanding of inequity aversion in dogs and thereby identify potential avenues for future research in this area.     

THE DEVELOPMENT OF HEALTHSTAGES: A UNIQUE UNIVERSITY AND NOT-FOR-PROFIT COLLABORATION TO ENHANCE SUCCESSFUL AGING

HealthStages is a health promotion program of OASIS, a national arts and humanities, health, and volunteer organization for older adults. It was developed by a unique not-for-profit organization and university collaboration using state-of-the art curricula and current research to enhance successful aging. Rowe and Kahn's (1997) model of successful aging provided the overall framework for the project, and Prochaska and DiClemente (1983) Stages of Change component of the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change guided our curriculum development, research questions, and program evaluation. HealthStages uses evaluations of individual courses to assess participant expectations, new areas of interest, and appropriateness of courses. Outcome measures assess participants' changes as a result of particular courses within the program. Using a longitudinal survey design, a sample of HealthStages participants is compared to a random sample of older adults not involved in the program, comparisons are made on their health, health behavior, healthcare utilization, activity, and functioning over time. HealthStages is a comprehensive health promotion program designed to provide courses in a variety of topic areas at differing levels of readiness to change and to measure changes over time. The unique collaboration offers benefits to OASIS and its members as well as to faculty and students of Washington University.     

Multicultural counselling supervision: A four-step model toward competency

Multicultural elements and issues are a vital part ofeffective counselling supervision. However,traditional counselling supervision has not provideda conceptual framework that integrates multiculturalissues. The purpose of this paper is to provide afour-step model for the development of multiculturallycompetent counsellors. The four-step model includes:(a) developing cultural awareness of the counsellingsupervisor; (b) exploring the cultural dynamics of thecounselling supervisory relationship; (c) examiningthe cultural assumptions of traditional counsellingtheories; and (d) integrating multicultural issuesinto existing models of supervision.     

Differential effects of attentional focus strategies during long-term resistance training

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of using an internal versus external focus of attention during resistance training on muscular adaptations. Thirty untrained college-aged men were randomly assigned to an internal focus group (INTERNAL) that focused on contracting the target muscle during training (n?=?15) or an external focus group (EXTERNAL) that focused on the outcome of the lift (n?=?15). Training for both routines consisted of 3 weekly sessions performed on non-consecutive days for 8 weeks. Subjects performed 4 sets of 8–12 repetitions per exercise. Changes in strength were assessed by six repetition maximum in the biceps curl and isometric maximal voluntary contraction in knee extension and elbow flexion. Changes in muscle thickness for the elbow flexors and quadriceps were assessed by ultrasound. Results show significantly greater increases in elbow flexor thickness in INTERNAL versus EXTERNAL (12.4% vs. 6.9%, respectively); similar changes were noted in quadriceps thickness. Isometric elbow flexion strength was greater for INTERNAL while isometric knee extension strength was greater for EXTERNAL, although neither reached statistical significance. The findings lend support to the use of a mind–muscle connection to enhance muscle hypertrophy.     

An electromyographic comparison of a modified version of the plank with a long lever and posterior tilt versus the traditional plank exercise

The purpose of the study was to compare core muscle activation of the tradition prone plank with a modified version performed with a long-lever and posterior-tilt using surface electromyography. To further determine if a specific component of this modified plank was more effective than the other in enhancing muscle activity, the plank with a long lever and the plank with a posterior pelvic tilt were studied individually. Nineteen participants performed all four variations of the plank for 30 seconds in a randomized order with 5-minute rest between exercise bouts. Compared to the traditional prone plank, the long-lever posterior-tilt plank displayed a significantly increased activation of the upper rectus abdominis (p < 0.001), lower abdominal stabilizers (p < 0.001), and external oblique (p < 0.001). The long-lever plank showed significantly greater activity compared to the traditional plank in the upper rectus abdominis (p = 0.015) and lower abdominal stabilizers (p < 0.001), while the posterior tilt plank elicited greater activity in the external oblique (p = 0.028). In conclusion, the long-lever posterior-tilt plank significantly increases muscle activation compared to the traditional prone plank. The long-lever component tends to contribute more to these differences than the posterior-tilt component.