Neonatal Stress Reactivity: Predictions to Later Emotional Temperament

To investigate the relations among popular measures of neonatal stress and their link to subsequent temperament, 50 full-term newborns from a normal care nursery were examined responding to a heelstick blood draw. Baseline and heelstick measures of behavioral state, heart period, vagal tone, and salivary cortisol were obtained. Recovery measures of behavioral and cardiac activity were also analyzed. Mothers completed Rothbart's Infant Behavior Questionnaire when their infants reached 6 months of age. Baseline vagal tone predicted cortisol in response to the heelstick, suggesting that baseline vagal tone reflects the infants' ability to react to stressors. Greater reactivity to the heelstick (more crying, shorter heart periods, lower vagal tone, and higher cortisol) was associated with lower scores on "Distress-to-Limitations" temperament at 6 months. This finding was consistent with the expectation that the capacity to react strongly to an aversive stimulus would reflect better neurobehavioral organization in the newborn. Recovery measures of cardiac activity approximated and were correlated with baseline measures indicating the strong self-righting properties of the healthy newborn. Finally, vagal tone and salivary cortisol measures were not significantly related, suggesting the importance of assessing both systems in studies of the ontogeny of stress-temperament relations.     

Conducting Rigorous Survey Research in the Study of School-Based Consultation

The evidence base for school-based consultation practice and training is limited by a small number of studies, possibly due to unique challenges in researching consultation. For example, there are myriad variables to measure and idiosyncratic cultural and contextual factors to account for when investigating what works, for whom, and in what circumstances. Survey methodology offers one means for conducting consultation research. This article proposes a process for rigorous survey research in school-based consultation training and practice, which addresses some potential concerns regarding survey research. Specifically, issues of survey development, survey validation, sampling, and data collection are addressed. These processes are illustrated through the design and administration of an online survey of 262 early career school psychologists; preliminary data analyses suggested strong scale reliability, minimal item response bias, and population representativeness. Recommendations for future consultation survey research are provided.     

From a child's point of view: Studying Thailand and Nigeria

Young children enjoy studying about other cultures when they experience them in a concrete, hands-on manner. Cross-cultural study by young children should encourage them to experience a culture from an indigenous child's viewpoint. Learning facts and information about a culture is less important than experiencing how children from other places might play a game or what they might eat for dinner.Cynthia Szymanski Sunal is a professor of early childhood education and a social studies specialist at the University of Alabama. Barbara Gibson Warash is a clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Laboratory Preschool at West Virginia University.     

Children's Literature as Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse

This article addresses the issue of child sexual abuse, providing contextual information about the problem, such as the fact that in 85–95% of cases, the offender is known to and trusted by the victim. Because children are greatly influenced by situations depicted in books (and other media), positive and negative influences of general children's literature are discussed. More importantly, the author argues that carefully selected children's literature can help to prevent child sexual abuse. Since statistics reveal that the average sexually abused victim is eight years old, this study focuses on current and suggested literature for children ages four through eight. Content and evaluative criteria are discussed, followed by a survey of thirteen children's books that deal with child sexual abuse. Finally, ideal characteristics of prevention are suggested and some literary models are proposed.     

Computer based guidance in American higher education

Summary This article presents an overview on the current state of the art of computer based guidance in the United States. A review of the historical development of the use of computers in career decision making and guidance over the past twenty years is provided. Both Information Retrieval systems and Interactive Guidance and Information systems are discussed. The future development of hardware and software for new populations using videodiscs and voice activated computers is addressed. The article concludes with some observations about the role of the professional as they utilize the computer as a counseling tool.This article will discuss the history of the development of Computer Based Guidance in the United States; its focus will be a report on the current state of the art in America. It will conclude with a look at future directions and will raise concerns regarding the role of the professional and the profession as they begin to use computers as a new intervention.     

Designing for Quality: Distance Education Rubrics for Online MSW Programs

ABSTRACT

There has been a rapid increase in the number of online MSW programs in the past decade without a commensurate body of literature on their administration. This article acquaints MSW program faculty and administrators with quality assurance rubrics, which are research-informed tools intended for use by distance education providers to develop, support and manage high quality online courses and programs. Graduate programs that are in the process of considering or actually designing an online delivery option, as well as those that are currently implementing online programs, may benefit from the use of such quality assurance rubrics.     

Lift Every Voice and Sing: Faculty of Color Face the Challenges of the Tenure Track

This article highlights some of the obstacles facing tenure-track faculty of color in academia. Through the perspective of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and by using a counterstories method, four faculty of color share their experiences as they explore diversity issues through engaging in a 1-year self-study. Findings of this qualitative study provide important insights from the perspectives of faculty of color to address ways in which to identify supports that lever barriers during the tenure process.