Social Equity and Access to a Philippine STEM School

Like most developing countries in the world, there is a huge gap in opportunities to access quality science education between students from the high- and low-socioeconomic strata of Philippine society. In establishing its own science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) high school, despite limited public funding in 1964, the government embarked on a hopeful project for continuously building up its scientific and technological work force to support modern economic development. The initial focus on elite talent development, however, eventually had to give way to legislative reforms that address issues of social equity. Greater accessibility for scholarships by underprivileged students in the provinces was accomplished, first, through the regionalization of its admission system and then, later, through its transformation into a network of science high schools across the nation. In my home country, sustaining equitable access to STEM education also means enhancing school participation through partnerships with community constituents and the private sector.     

Reciprocal influences between stressful life events and adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems

Investigated in this study were hypothesized reciprocal influences between stressful life events and adolescent maladjustment using data from a 6-year, prospective longitudinal study. Stressful life experiences, internalizing symptoms, and externalizing behaviors were assessed for a sample of adolescents (215 males, 236 females) living in the rural Midwest. From 7th to 12th grades, autoregressive analyses showed that stressful life events and these two forms of maladjustment were reciprocally interrelated over time. For example, stressful life events at one point significantly predicted delinquent behaviors 1 year later, which, in turn, significantly predicted stressful life events 1 year later, and vice versa. The findings provide evidence for the accumulating disadvantage for adolescents that results from the mutual reinforcement of problematic situations and adjustment problems over time.     

Violence and schools in the USA: implications for counseling

This article focuses on school violence in the UnitedStates, kindergarten (k) through 12^th grade, andit addresses the following topics: (a) a briefbackground of school violence in the USA, (b) etiologyand consequences of school violence, (c) preventionprograms and efforts, (d) preventive counseling andconsultation, (e) counseling the violence prone andviolence victim, (f) international and cross-culturalimplications, and (g) discussion.     

Fine motor skills and executive function both contribute to kindergarten achievement

This study examined the contribution of executive function (EF) and multiple aspects of fine motor skills to achievement on 6 standardized assessments in a sample of middle-socioeconomic status kindergarteners. Three- and 4-year-olds' (n=213) fine and gross motor skills were assessed in a home visit before kindergarten, EF was measured at fall of kindergarten, and Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Academic Achievement were administered at fall and spring. Correlations indicated that EF and fine motor skills appeared distinct. Further, controlling for background variables, higher levels of both EF and fine motor skills, specifically design copy, predicted higher achievement on multiple subtests at kindergarten entry, as well as improvement from fall to spring. Implications for research on school readiness are discussed.     

Desiderata: towards indigenous models of vocational psychology

As a result of a relative lack of cross-cultural validity in most current (Western) psychological models, indigenous models of psychology have recently become a popular approach for understanding behaviour in specific cultures. Such models would be valuable to vocational psychology research with culturally diverse populations. Problems facing current psychological models and methods of improving cultural validity are discussed. An integrative model of cross-cultural psychology is reviewed and the relevance of indigenous psychological methods to the advancement of vocational psychology is explained.     

Correlates of Psychological Abuse Perpetration in College Dating Relationships

This study examined the contributions of gender, adult romantic attachment orientations (i.e., avoidance, anxiety), defense mechanisms (i.e., narcissism, other‐splitting), and stressors to college student psychological abuse perpetration (dominance). Men with higher levels of attachment avoidance, narcissistic entitlement, and stressful problems reported more dominance of female partners. Women with higher levels of other‐splitting reported more dominance of male partners. Attachment avoidance contributed to women's dominance of male partners only in the context of elevated narcissistic entitlement or few stressors.     

A microfluidic platform for measuring electrical activity across cells

In this paper, we present a microfluidic chip that is capable of measuring electrical conductance through gap junction channels in a 2-dimensional cell sheet. The chip utilizes a tri-stream laminar flow to create a non-conductive sucrose gap between the two conducting solutions so that electrical current can pass across the sucrose gap only through the cells. Using the chip, we tested the effect of a gap junction inhibitor, 2-APB, on the electrical coupling of connexin 43 (Cx43) gap junction channels in NRK-49F cells. We found that 2-APB reversibly blocks the conductivity in a dose-dependent manner. The tri-stream chip further allows us to simultaneously follow the conductance changes and dye diffusion in real time. We show that 2-APB affects both conductance and diffusion, supporting the interpretation that both sets of data reflect the same gap junction activity. The chip provides a generic platform to investigate gap junction properties and to screen drugs that may inhibit or potentiate gap junction transmission.     

Relations between early family risk, children's behavioral regulation, and academic achievement

This study examined relations among early family risk, children's behavioral regulation at 54 months and kindergarten, and academic achievement in first grade using data on 1,298 children from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Family risk was indexed by ethnic minority status, low maternal education, low average family income from 1 - 54 months, and high maternal depressive symptoms from 1 - 54 months. Results of structural equation modeling indicated that minority status, low maternal education, and low family income had significant negative effects on reading, math, and vocabulary achievement in first grade. Modest indirect effects were also found from ethnicity, maternal education, and maternal depressive symptoms, through 54-month and kindergarten behavioral regulation to first-grade achievement. Discussion focuses on the importance of behavioral regulation for school success especially for children facing early risk.     

Do 45% of College Students Lack Critical Thinking Skills? Revisiting a Central Conclusion of Academically Adrift

The educational literature, the popular press, and educated laypeople have all echoed a conclusion from the book Academically Adrift by Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa (which has now become received wisdom), namely, that 45% of college students showed no significant gains in critical thinking skills. Similar results were reported by Pascarella, Blaich, Martin, and Hanson after the publication of Arum and Roksa's book in 2011. However, these authors' statistical tests were conducted incorrectly, and therefore this 45% finding is fundamentally untrue. We demonstrate that a correct statistical analysis would have found that far fewer students show significant gains in critical thinking. However, this does not reflect on student learning; instead, it reflects on how hard it is to find a statistically significant result when assessing student change on a student‐by‐student basis. This article discusses valid methods for testing the significance of gain scores of individual students.     

Why European Universities and Funding Agencies are Committing to Open Access

New opportunities presented by technological developments are being realised but more can be achieved in opening access to scientific reports and data. Funding agencies and universities are beginning to realise the benefits from an open access model for the dissemination of research results. European funding agencies and universities are following two strategies towards open access, the deposit of research reports in repositories and the conversion of journals to an open access business model. Various public statements have been made in support of open access, and several organizations-such as JISC in the UK-are undertaking work to assist all stakeholders in scholarly communication in introducing beneficial changes.