Perceptions of conflict strategies and communication competence in task-oriented Dyads

Individuals in temporary task-oriented dyads or groups must manage conflict competently if they hope to be successful in reaching their goals. Thus far, however, research on the associations between conflict styles and communication competence has focused on acquainted dyads, such as relational partners and coworkers, rather than unacquainted dyads assigned to work on tasks. The present study tests the applicability of the competence model of interpersonal conflict to temporary task-oriented dyads. Dyads (N = 100) who had little or no relational history completed a simulated decision-making task that involved choosing two out of four employees to lay off in response to a company's need to downsize. Results indicate people generally perceived the solution-oriented strategy as appropriate and effective. Although people perceived their partners' use of the controlling strategy to be inappropriate, people rated themselves as more effective when they used the controlling strategy. People evaluated nonconfrontational strategies as particularly incompetent.     

Trust relationships in schools: supporting or subverting implementation of school-wide initiatives

This article explores trust relationships in schools that involve disparities in power. Trust is a key factor in developing a positive school culture and strong leadership in schools. Even with the flattening of hierarchies through more distributive models of leadership, disparities in power exist and they influence the trust relationships in schools. Through both French and Raven’s and Follett’s conceptualisations of power, five brief autobiographical stories about trust in schools are deconstructed. Lessons for leadership are gleaned from the power relationships in the autobiographical stories of trust shared by public school educators. In addition, general recommendations are offered that are relevant for all levels of school leadership including but not limited to the instructional coach, the curriculum supervisor, the building principal, and the classroom teacher.     

General Media Works

Ida Oswald and Susanne Wilson, This Bag Is Not A Toy: A Handbook for The Use of Videorecording in Education For the Professions (New York: Council on Social Work Education, 1972 – (price not known), paper.

Thomas R. Giblin (ed.) Popular Media and the Teaching of English (Pacific Palisades, Calif.: Goodyear Publishing Co., 1972 – $3.95, paper)

Charles Boeckman's And the Beat Goes On: A Survey of Pop Music in America (Washington: Luce, with distribution by David McKay of New York, 1972 – $5.95)

Donald R. Gordon's The New Literacy (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1971 – $10.00/2.75/10.00 (hard, paper, microfiche editions)

Jess Ritter and Grover Lewis (eds.) Focus/Media (San Francisco: Chandler, 1972 – $5.00, paper)

Otto Lerbringer (of Boston University's School of Public Communication), Designs for Persuasive Communication (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1972 – $8.95/4.95)     

Searching MEDLINE for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health literature: questionable sensitivity

Objective

The extent to which existing and future research can impact on reducing health disparities relates not only to the evidence available, but the ability to find that evidence. Our objective is to quantify experts' literature searching effectiveness with respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's health.

Methods

Nine journals were dual reviewed, and a ‘gold standard’ set of relevant articles was identified. Health librarians (n = 25) completed a standardised searching task using OVID MEDLINE, and results were compared with the gold standard. Sensitivity, specificity and precision rates were calculated.

Results

The gold standard comprised 136 of 1469 (9.3%) records from nine journals. Searches achieved a mean sensitivity of 53.2% (median = 64.7%, range 0.0–93.4%), specificity of 97.4% (median = 99.4%, range 52.6–100%) and precision of 83.3% (median = 91.0%, range 16.7–100%). Self‐estimates of search sensitivity (post hoc) were significantly higher than observed (M = 78.9%, t = 4.812, P < 0.001).

Conclusions

Even expert searchers struggle to find the relevant peer‐reviewed literature in MEDLINE.

Implications

A search filter may improve searching effectiveness for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health literature. Assessment of health librarians' searching competencies warrants further professional debate and consideration.     

The Nature of Verbal and Non-Verbal Abilities

This study examined the link between learning style and Jungian psychological type. A large sample of ninth-grade students was administered the Dunn and Dunn Learning Style Inventory, the Renzulli-Smith Learning Style Inventory, and the Murphy-Meisgeier Type Indicator for Children (MMTIC). Canonical correlation procedures indicated the presence of two bipolar learning preferences characterized by a reflective learner-active learner (introversion-extraversion) dimension and a structured/motivated-unstructured/casual (judging-perception) dimension. It is suggested that the MMTIC’s Extraversion-Introversion and Judging-Perception scales may be alternatively conceptualized as useful measures of learning style. Educational implications and recommendations are discussed.     

Book reviews

Streznewski, M. K. (1999). Gifted grownups: The mixed blessings of extraordinary potential . New York: John Wiley & Sons (292 pp., $24.95 hb, ISBN‐0–471–29580–9).

Johnson, N.G., Roberts, M.C., & Worell, J., Eds.(1999). Beyond appearance: A new look at adolescent girls . Washington, DC: American Psychological Association (464 pp., ISBN‐1–55798–582–0).

Smutny, J.F. (1998). The young gifted child: Potential and promise, an anthology . Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, Inc. (582 pp. $35.00, paperback, ISBN 1–57273–108–7).

Elias, M. J., Zins, J. E., Weissberg, R. P., Frey, K. S., Green‐berg, M. T., Haynes, N. M., Kessler, R., Schwab‐Stone, M. E., & Shriver, T. P. (1997). Promoting social and emotional learning . Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. (164 pp., $22.95 pb, ISBN‐0–87120–288–3).

Friedman, R. C., & Rogers, K. B. (Eds.). (1998). Talent in context: Historical and social perspectives on giftedness . Washington, DC: American Psychological Association (218 pp., $29.95 Hardback, ISBN 1–55798–493).     

Primary physical education: a complex learning journey for children and teachers

Primary physical education (PPE) is increasingly being recognised for the role it can potentially play in setting a foundation for lifelong engagement in physical activity. However, the majority of the literature continues to focus on the negative features of the subject within the primary context. Whilst acknowledging the existence of these barriers, this paper sets out to take a proactive approach by presenting a conceptual framework for PPE that seeks to support a renewed and positive vision for the future. Based on ideas from complexity thinking, the framework represents a move beyond the more positivist and linear approaches that have long been reported to dominate practices in PPE and recognises learners as active agents engaged in a learning process that is collaborative, non-linear and uncertain. While acknowledging the contested nature of the complexity field, the paper explores how key principles, including self-organisation, emergence, similarity, diversity, connectedness, nestedness, ambiguous bounding, recursive elaboration and edge of chaos, offer a lens that views PPE as a complex system. With the children's learning positioned as the focus of PPE in the educational setting, the paper discusses how complexity principles interweave with the ecological components to help us better understand and more creatively engage with the complex nature of PPE developments. Specifically, these components are identified as PPE learning experiences and their associated pedagogy, teachers and their PPE professional learning and key environmental factors that include the physical environment and key stakeholders who influence developments across the different levels of the education system. The paper concludes by suggesting that this complexity-informed PPE framework represents an open invitation for the all those involved in PPE to engage in a collective process of exploration and negotiation to positively influence developments in PPE.     

Post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety among Gaza Strip adolescents in the wake of the second Uprising (Intifada)

OBJECTIVE: Children and adolescents of the Gaza Strip have been subjected to continuous violence since the eruption of the second Intifada (Uprising). Little is known, however, about the psychological effects of this violence on children and adolescents of Gaza. Thus, the purpose of the present investigation was to evaluate and describe the psychological effects of exposure of war-like circumstances on this population. METHOD: Participants for this study were 229 Palestinian adolescents living in the Gaza Strip who were administered measures of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and coping. RESULTS: Of the 229 participants, 68.9% were classified as having developed PTSD, 40.0% reported moderate or severe levels of depression, 94.9% were classified as having severe anxiety levels, and 69.9% demonstrated undesirable coping responses. A canonical discriminant analysis revealed that adolescents diagnosed with PTSD tended to be those who reported the highest levels of depression, anxiety, and positive reappraisal coping, and the lowest levels of seeking guidance and support coping. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that a significant proportion of Palestinian adolescents living in the Gaza Strip are experiencing serious psychological distress.     

Mindfulness as a Prerequisite to Effective Leadership; Exploring the Constructs that Foster Productive Use of Feedback for Professional Learning

This paper proposes a model that integrates mindfulness, ego, and mindset as filters of the information available for professional learning. The paper explores connections between mindset, ego, and mindfulness that promote or inhibit an educator’s ability to use feedback for learning. A leader’s commitment to creating spaces for meaningful use of all types of feedback promotes a school climate that encourages risk taking in learning. Mindfulness, the cultivation of the ability to pay attention to the present moment non-judgmentally, is a prerequisite skill to the effective delivery and use of feedback to promote professional learning. The development of mindfulness requires practice of a method and the continual application of mindfulness to remain open to learning from feedback.