Peer victimization and empathy for victims of bullying: A test of bidirectional associations in childhood and adolescence

Anti-bullying interventions often assume that knowing how it feels to be bullied increases empathy for victims. However, longitudinal research on actual experiences of bullying and empathy is lacking. This study investigated whether within-person changes in victimization predicted changes in empathy over 1 year using random-intercept cross-lagged panel models. Self- and peer-reported victimization, and cognitive and affective empathy for victims were measured in a sample of 15,713 Finnish youth (M_age = 13.23, SD_age = 2.01, 51.6% female; 92.5% had Finnish-speaking parents; data was collected in 2007–2009 when information about participants’ race/ethnicity was not available due to ethical guidelines for the protection of personal information). Results indicated small, positive longitudinal associations from victimization to cognitive empathy. Implications for empathy-raising interventions are discussed.     

General psychiatric management: An evidence-based treatment for borderline personality disorder in the college setting

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a prevalent psychiatric illness that often first presents at college. If left untreated, BPD can lead to severe disability or fatality. While multiple evidence-based treatments for BPD exist, most are resource intensive and, therefore, difficult to implement at the typical college mental health center. However, general psychiatric management (GPM) is an evidence-based intervention for BPD that can be flexibly implemented in nonspecialized, resource-constrained environments. This principle-driven alternative to more intensive BPD-focused treatments provides a practical framework for treating college students with BPD. The aim of this article is to provide an introduction to the techniques of GPM within the college mental health setting. With a case vignette, we illustrate how GPM techniques might be brought to bear on such a treatment.     

You Gotta Represent¡ Ethnic Identity Development among Hispanic Adolescents

Hispanic students' awareness of cultural, linguistic, and sociopolitical issues are influenced by their experiences in schools and affect their sense of identity. An examination of student discourse between bilingual gifted and bilingual general education students in an urban middle school is presented, with particular attention given to how participating bilingual students relate to each other, peers (in general and gifted education), teachers, administrators, families, and communities, and how they perceive themselves. A discussion of the core issues that emerged, including students' reawakening to their ethnic identity, differing rationales for using native language, and observed differences in self-perceptions between the gifted and general education bilingual Hispanic students is provided, along with results and implications for future research.     

Measuring cultural value in Canada: From national commissions to a culture satellite account

In Canada, government initiatives for the measurement of cultural value can be traced to the 1949 Royal Commission on National Development in Arts, Letters and Sciences, and later evolved to include more empirical measurement with the Culture Statistics Program (1972) as well as research into the social dimensions of cultural investment. In 2009, Statistics Canada launched a four-year Feasibility Study to culminate in the creation of a Canadian Culture Satellite Account (CSA), an accounting framework to measure the impact of culture, the arts, heritage and sport on the Canadian economy. Taking account of both the recent and broader historical context out of which the CSA emerged, this paper examines its intended use and future plans. The CSA is a useful tool to the Government of Canada in supporting its activities related to the funding of culture, but this paper takes the position that it is not in and of itself a sufficient means for measuring the value of culture in Canada, and so it is best understood as part of a constellation of tools with differing but complementary approaches.     

A single session of treadmill running has no effect on plasma total ghrelin concentrations

Ghrelin is a hormone that stimulates hunger. Intense exercise has been shown to temporarily suppress hunger after exercise. In the present study, we investigated whether post-exercise hunger suppression is mediated by reduced plasma total ghrelin concentrations. Nine men and nine women participated in the study. Their mean physical characteristics were as follows: age 24.8 (s(x) = 0.9) years, body mass index 22.9 (s(x) = 0.6) kg x m(-2), maximal oxygen uptake (VO(2max)) 57.7 (s(x) = 2.2) ml x kg(-1) x min(-1). The participants completed two 3-h trials (exercise and control) on separate days in a randomized balanced design after overnight fasts. The exercise trial involved a 1-h treadmill run at 73.5% of VO(2max) followed by 2 h of rest. The control trial consisted of 3 h of rest. Blood samples were collected at 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 3 h. Total ghrelin concentrations were determined from plasma. Hunger was assessed following blood sampling using a 15-point scale. The data were analysed using repeated-measures analysis of variance. Hunger scores were lower in the exercise trial than in the control trial (trial, P = 0.009; time, P < 0.001; trial x time, P < 0.001). Plasma total ghrelin concentrations did not differ between trials. These findings indicate that treadmill running suppresses hunger but this effect is not mediated by changes in plasma total ghrelin concentration.     

Developing an appreciation of what it means to be a school-based teacher educator

The nature of partnership between schools and higher education institutions is changing in many countries, with experienced teachers taking on more responsibility for teacher education whilst remaining in their school as teachers, rather than entering the higher education sector to become teacher educators. This research considers the perspectives of these school-based teacher educators (SBTEs) in England, exploring the impact that this role has on them, their student-teachers and their schools. Some benefits and challenges that they face in the dual role of teacher and teacher educator are revealed. The research takes an interpretive perspective, listening to the meanings being constructed by the participants through use of a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and a focus group of student-teachers who learned from these SBTEs. Possible impacts on student-teachers’ learning and implications for the development of high-quality teacher education are examined.     

The hidden benefits of part-time higher education study to working practices: is there a case for making them more visible?

Within the UK, part-time study is now seen as important in meeting wider government objectives for higher education (HE) and for sustainable economic growth through skills development. Yet, measures to capture the impact of HE may not be wholly appropriate to part-time study. In particular, the continuing focus on tangible, economic measures may be down-playing, or even completely overlooking, other gains. Data from a longitudinal study of part-time students show that irrespective of whether graduates had changed job or employer, or had stayed in the same job, individuals reported substantial work-related gains from their HE studies. We suggest that current research questions that focus on job moves and progression within the labour market, may well be the wrong questions to ask to gauge measures of benefits/returns to HE. Further research is needed to develop measures to fully capture the social returns of skills acquisition through part-time study.