"Birds of a Feather…": Behavioral Concordances and Preferential Personal Attraction in Children

The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which preferential personal attraction was associated with behavioral similarity among newly acquinted children. Participants included 69 focal children, selected from a sample of 236 7-year-old children who met, for the first time, in same-sex quartets ( n = 59) for a free-play session. Within each of these quartets, a "discriminating child" was identified; this child expressed a clear preference for one of his or her playmates over one other of her or his quartet playmates. Preference was determined sociometrically after the children became acquainted during free play. The results indicated that "discriminating" children were more behaviorally similar to preferred playmates than to nonpreferred playmates both in terms of cognitive play style and social participation. Implications of the findings are discussed in terms of the relation to the acquaintanceship process.     

The effects of sex of speaker and listener on recall from a medical audiotape

Two studies are reported that examine the effects of the sex of the speaker and the sex of the listener on recall from a medical audiotape on multiple sclerosis. Previous research in other contexts has suggested that males might be more effective speakers than females, that males might be more effective listeners than females, and that there might be an interaction between the sex of the speaker and the sex of the listener so that male listeners might recall more from male speakers and female listeners might recall more from female ones.
Despite considerable differences between the two reported studies, the results from both were very similar. Both produced no evidence to support any of the above suggestions.     

A Process Model of Attachment–Friend Linkages: Hostile Attribution Biases,Language Ability,and Mother–Child Affective Mutuality as Intervening Mechanisms

This study identified mechanisms through which child–mother attachment security at 36 months was associated with mother‐ and teacher‐reported friendship quality at 3rd grade. Data from a subsample of 1,071 children (536 boys) participating in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development were used. Separate structural equation models were tested for mother and teacher reports of peer functioning. For both models, the total indirect effect between attachment security and friendship quality was significant. Tests of specific indirect effects indicated that attachment security was associated with friendship quality via greater mother–child affective mutuality and better language ability at 54 months and fewer hostile attributions (teacher model only) and greater peer competence at first grade. The findings highlight interpersonal and intrapersonal mechanisms of attachment–friend linkages.     

Child-care characteristics of infants with and without special needs: Comparisons and concerns

Employment patterns and child-care characteristics and concerns of mothers and infants (12–15 months) with special needs (n = 166) were described and compared with a group of typically-developing children and their mothers (n = 139). Compared with the latter group, fewer mothers of children with special needs had reentered the work force by one year; infants began child care at an older age, and for fewer hours; care by relatives was more common, and formal arrangements were less common. The groups did not differ on any measures of observed quality of care. Special needs were an important concern in making employment decisions and finding child care for of the sample.     

Managing the Research University: Clark Kerr and the University of California

In the 1950s and 1960s, Clark Kerr led the University of California's Berkeley campus, and then the University of California as a whole. Throughout these years, he developed a system of managerial strategies. This paper shows how Kerr's administrative views drew upon his background in industrial relations, his liberal theories of pluralistic industrial change, and contemporary understandings of American business organization.     

The Transparency of Evil in The Leftovers and its Implications for Student (Dis)engagement

The HBO series, The Leftovers, provides a thought-provoking platform for discussing Baudrillard's conceptualization of evil and the implications for contemporary pedagogical discourse about student (dis)engagement. The dystopic scenario of 2% of the world's population suddenly disappearing might help us rethink our own society, including education. Baudrillard distinguishes between a creative Evil force that can be positive or negative in its outcome and a moral evil seen as wholly negative. By examining the situation created by the modern confusion of evil and misfortune, it becomes apparent that disengagement moves beyond personal characteristics. Unveiling such underlying issues allows for a reconceptualization of youth at risk, and thus has repercussions for the explanation of disengaged youth in our classrooms.     

Diagnosing the Poor Performance of Self‐worth Protective Students: A product of future outcome uncertainty,evaluative threat,or both?

Self‐worth protective students characteristically perform well on some occasions yet on other occasions they perform poorly. In this study, two accounts of the poor performance of self‐worth protective students are assessed. The first is that their poor performance is an outcome of evaluative threat. The second is that their poor performance is an outcome of future outcome uncertainty: a product of their uncertain global self‐esteem and uncertainty about the causes of achievement outcomes. Students high or low in self‐worth protection were exposed to either noncontingent success (creating future outcome uncertainty), noncontingent failure (evoking evaluative threat), or contingent success. Their ability to solve two tasks that involved a high degree of uncertainty was then assessed. Students high in self‐worth protection performed poorly following both noncontingent failure and noncontingent success, supporting the roles of both evaluative threat and future outcome uncertainty. The implications in terms of enhancing the achievement of students high in self‐worth protection are discussed.     

Durable,Portable Research through Partnerships with Interdisciplinary Advocacy Groups,Specific Research Topics,and Larger Data Sets

ABSTRACT

Relying on the case of a mixed-methods study centered on patients’ strategies for establishing their credibility in clinical conversations, this essay argues that the more intentional and effective the participant recruitment and the more specific the inquiry, the more likely technical communication and rhetoric of science researchers are to encounter potentially powerful partners through which they might get and analyze compelling data and, thus, gain engaged audiences outside of their disciplines.     

“It's Cheesy When They Smile

Building on previous research in which we provided an opportunity for female college athletes to construct their own photographic portrayals, this study explored young female athletes' perceptions of the college athlete photographs. Fifty-two girls participated in focus group interviews where they viewed and discussed the images. The young athletes particularly liked images they perceived to show authentic athletes (e.g., in athletic settings, with appropriate sport attire), images they could relate to due to personal experiences, and images that reflected competent and passionate sportswomen. Images perceived as revealing a lack of motivation, poor sporting attitudes, and nonathletic poses generally were disliked. Images depicting multiple social identities (e.g., an athlete in a dress) were controversial and generated much discussion.