The effect of imaginative play actions on language development in five-year-old children

The study, using 60 five-year-olds, investigated forms of play: (a) self-action, (b) puppet-action, and (c) control treatments and differences between the sexes on aural language recall scores using semantic, absolute, and syntactic criteria. The results of the preliminary analyses between treatment groups and sex differences on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and the Harris-Goodenough Draw-A-Man Test indicated no significant main or interaction effects. The subjects in treatment groups and boys and girls were relatively homogeneous on receptive language IQ and motor coordination, respectively. With 3 × 2 factorial analysis of variance experiments run on aural language recall for each of the three criteria, several significant results were noted: (a) Using the semantic criteria for scoring aural language recall, self-action play yielded significantly higher mean scores than either puppet-action or control groups. (b) Using the semantic criteria to score aural language recall, girls yielded significantly higher scores than boys. (c) Using either the absolute or syntactic scoring criteria, the results of the analysis indicated no significant main or interaction effects on aural language recall.     

Journal publications of Ph.D. graduates from American criminology and criminal justice programs

This article assesses the quality of 12 American doctoral programs by counting the number of publications of their Ph.D. graduates in a large number of criminology and criminal justice journals, and in 20 more “academic” journals. While half of the Ph.D. graduates had no publications, the 4 percent who were the most productive (the “stars”) accounted for one third of all journal articles. Publication rates up to graduation predicted publication rates after graduation. The University of Maryland, Michigan State University, the University of California at Irvine, Florida State University, and Sam Houston State University had the most productive Ph.D. graduates in academic journals. There was a significant correlation between the productivity of a program's Ph.D. graduates and the productivity of its faculty members. The academic publication rate was influenced most by prevalence (the percentage of Ph.D.s with at least one publication), rather than by the percentage of “stars” or the frequency of publications.     

Comparisons of Four Methods for Estimating a Dynamic Factor Model

Four methods for estimating a dynamic factor model, the direct autoregressive factor score (DAFS) model, are evaluated and compared. The first method estimates the DAFS model using a Kalman filter algorithm based on its state space model representation. The second one employs the maximum likelihood estimation method based on the construction of a block-Toeplitz covariance matrix in the structural equation modeling framework. The third method is built in the Bayesian framework and implemented using Gibbs sampling. The fourth is the least squares method, which also employs the block-Toeplitz matrix. All 4 methods are implemented in currently available software. The simulation study shows that all 4 methods reach appropriate parameter estimates with comparable precision. Differences among the 4 estimation methods and related software are discussed.     

Recollections of sexual socialisation among marginalised heterosexual black men

This paper describes the sexual socialisation process of marginalised, drug-using heterosexual black men, focusing primarily on the sources and content of sexual information. Analysing qualitative interview data, we discovered that the men in our sample both learn about sex and become sexually active at an early age. They most often learn about sex from the media and least often learn about sex from family members. The content of sexual information varies in specifics, but overall tends to equate sex with pleasure, encourage sexual activity with multiple partners and emphasise using protection. Our goal is to use this data to better understand how sexual socialisation contributes to the prevalence of multiple sexual partners and high rates of HIV among heterosexual black men in order to inform future risk-reduction intervention programmes.     

Preliminary Investigation of the Sources of Self-Efficacy Among Teachers of Students with Autism

Teacher self-efficacy refers to the beliefs teachers hold regarding their capability to bring about desired instructional outcomes and may be helpful for understanding and addressing critical issues such as teacher attrition and teacher use of research-supported practices. Educating students with autism likely presents teachers with some of the most significant instructional challenges. The self-efficacy of 35 special education teachers of students with autism between the ages of 3 to 9 years was evaluated. Teachers completed rating scales that represented self-efficacy and aspects of the following 3 of Bandura's 4 sources of self-efficacy: (1) sense of mastery, (2) social persuasions, and (3) physiological/affective states. Significant associations were observed between physiological/affective states and self-efficacy, but no associations were observed for the other sources.     

Integrating Aging and Civic Engagement into the Curriculum

This conceptual paper is based on interdisciplinary work the authors have participated in as part of the renewed push for civic engagement, the various forms it takes, and the multiple constituencies involved in its promotion. We focus on what theoretical and empirical content could be incorporated into courses on aging so that students can be prepared to critically think about, understand, and analyze both practice and policy aspects of civic engagement and aging. We provide three learning cases that can be used as classroom exercises, suggest sample assignments, and examine implications of engagement for older adults. We append a sample syllabus that can be used as a framework to convey this content in an elective course or as a module of a social gerontology course. The call for civic engagement is being heard throughout the United States across sectors and across population groups. In this article, we begin with background information on the renewed push for civic engagement, the various forms it takes, and the multiple constituencies involved in its promotion. Following a brief contextual background, we focus on theoretical and empirical content that could be incorporated into courses on aging so that students can be prepared to understand and critically analyze the implications of civic engagement for older adults. Four units that could constitute a one-credit module or become part of an existing gerontology course are provided, complete with discussion questions, learning cases that can be used in classroom exercises, as well as sample assignments. We conclude with a sample course syllabus around which this module could be constructed in order to convey this content.     

Nursing Students' Intentions to Work in Dementia Care: Influence of Age,Ageism, and Perceived Barriers

Given a projected threefold increase in people living with dementia globally by 2050 (World Health Organization, 2012 World Health Organization (WHO) . ( 2012 ). Dementia: A public health priority . Retrieved from http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/75263/1/9789241564458_eng.pdf  [Google Scholar]), attracting nurses to work in this area will be critical to meet demand. This study examined the role of age, positive ageism, negative ageism, and aged-care placement completion in predicting nursing students' intentions to work in dementia care. Perceived barriers to working in dementia care were also explored through a thematic analysis. Participants were 135 undergraduate nursing students from one regional Australian university (ages ranging from 18 to 55years) who completed an online survey. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis revealed that age (p = .001) and positive ageism (p < .001) were associated with greater intentions to work in aged-care. A thematic analysis of perceived barriers to working in dementia care showed five themes consisting of 11 subthemes: profession (conditions, culture, diversity, interest); personal demands (emotional, physical); patient contact (communication, safety); experience (previous, lack); and no barriers. Younger students (<25 years of age) were more likely to nominate emotional demands as potential barriers, whereas older students were more likely to cite work conditions. Patient communication and interest in other areas of nursing were identified as barriers across age groups. The findings from this study suggest that educational providers could target students with specific characteristics associated with greater work intentions in dementia care, such as age and positive ageism. Perceived barriers to working in dementia care indicate possible areas of improvement that may attract more students to this field of practice.     

In support of a functional definition of interaction

Abstract

A common theme in the distance education literature is that delivery technologies with the potential for real‐time interactivity will improve both the image and practice of distance education. Although there appears to be a growing acceptance of a causal relationship between system interactivity and instructional interaction, neither concept has been clearly or functionally defined. This article discusses several systems models and relates them to the contexts of instructional delivery, instructional design, instructional theory, and learning theory in an attempt to establish conceptual parameters for the function of interaction.