Attachment and Temperament in the Early Life Course: A Meta‐Analytic Review

This meta‐analytic review examines the association between early attachment (assessed at 1–5 years) and child temperament (assessed at birth–12 years), and compares the strength of this association with recently documented meta‐analytic associations between early attachment and social competence, externalizing behavior, and internalizing symptoms. Based on 109 independent samples (N = 11,440) of diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds, temperament was weakly associated with attachment (in)security (d = .14, CI [0.08, 0.19]) but modestly associated with resistant attachment (d = .30, CI [0.21, 0.40]). Temperament was not significantly associated with avoidant (d = .10, CI [?0.02, 0.19]) or disorganized (d = .11, CI [?0.03, 0.25]) attachment. Across developmental domains, early attachment security was more strongly associated with social competence and externalizing behaviors than internalizing symptoms and temperament.     

Family rearing antecedents of pubertal timing

Two general evolutionary hypotheses were tested on 756 White children (397 girls) studied longitudinally: (1) rearing experiences would predict pubertal timing; and (2) children would prove differentially susceptible to rearing. Analysis of pubertal measurements, including some based on repeated physical assessments, showed that mothering and fathering, earlier and later in childhood, predicted pubertal development, but only for girls, with negative parenting appearing most influential; maternal harsh control predicted earlier menarche. Rearing effects varied by infant negative emotionality, proving stronger (and opposite) for girls who in infancy were lower rather than higher in negativity. Maternal menarche, controlled in all analyses, was a stronger predictor than rearing. Findings are discussed in terms of theory development, genetic and nutritional influences, and sample restrictions.     

Applications of Business Presentation Techniques to One-Shot Library Instruction

One can think of one-shot library instruction sessions as a way to introduce the academic library's resources to first-year students to help them with their research. These classes can also be thought of as an opportunity to “sell” the entire library and its resources to the student. This article will propose suggestions that can be adopted by library instruction librarians based on the recommendations and practices of business marketing practitioners and entrepreneurs who depend on one-shot “selling” meetings to convince their audience to “buy” their wares.     

A Qualitative Investigation of College Students' Facebook Usage and Romantic Relationships: Implications for College Counselors

The use of social media is a societal trend influencing the way that individuals communicate with and relate to one another. Moreover, Facebook use may facilitate or hinder individuals' relationship growth and development. The purpose of this article is to (a) review research examining Facebook usage and interpersonal relationships, (b) present qualitative insight into the Facebook experiences of college students (N = 16) from a large southeastern university, and (c) offer implications for college counselors.     

The dimensions of academic scholarship: Faculty and administrator views

Faculty and administrators responded to 32 activity statements related to scholarship on a frequency basis and on the characteristicness of the role. Approximately 1,000 faculty members in 24 colleges and universities and 55 administrators from 5 of the schools participated. Factor analysis revealed 6 dimensions of scholarship — professional activity, research (publishing), teaching, service, artistic endeavor, and engagement with the novel, the last being a new conception, one valued highly by both faculty and administrators in all types of colleges and universities. Significant differences appeared with respect to faculty and administrative views on the importance of research in regional universities.     

Nontraditional Students' Perspectives on College Education: A Qualitative Study

This study explored nontraditional college students' perspectives on their college education. Forty‐three undergraduate students with an average age of 38 years completed 60‐minute structured interviews. Qualitative research methodology based on grounded theory was used in data synthesis. Results identified the central concept of hopefulness, which interacted with 5 other themes: (a) motivation, (b) financial investment, (c) career development, (d) life transition, and (e) support systems. Implications for counseling practice and future research are discussed.     

Songwriting for nature: increasing nature connection and well-being through musical creativity

Abstract

We conducted two field studies to examine whether songwriting retreats held in a natural setting would increase nature connectedness, as well as improve emotional well-being and performance on a creative reasoning task. In the first study, high school students took part in songwriting instruction either in their school or at a national wildlife conservation area. Results showed that the natural setting uniquely increased nature connection, while both settings improved mood and creative reasoning performance. In the second study, we observed similar effects for adults who attended songwriting retreats at the same conservation area and compared this to results from a science-based workshop in another remote natural area to assess whether nature connection effects were entirely attributable to nature contact. The findings of these studies imply that both musical creativity and outdoor education experiences improve well-being, while outdoor education also increases nature connectedness, and songwriting also increases creative reasoning.     

Liminal States in Designing

Designers today face the daunting challenge of having to create more powerful, more innovative, and higher quality products through better, faster, and less costly processes. Can present approaches meet these challenges? Probably not. How might, we develop approaches that can? One path that seems reasonable is to try to gain a bettor understanding of the conditions and practices that lead to our best designs. If we can identify and describe these conditions in sufficient detail, then perhaps we can reproduce them and increase our chances of meeting today's challenges. This essay offers a preliminary sketch of a concept called the “liminal state” that we feel may represent a central element of designing and a condition that when embraced leads to the very best design products and processes. We will define the “liminal state,” describe a variety of contexts in which it may occur, and speculate on some particular areas where liminal states might improve performance.     

Tinto's Separation Stage and Its Influence on First-Semester College Student Persistence

Examination of student departure for various student populations, in different institutional settings, and at various stages in time is crucial in the quest to improve retention (Tinto, 1988, 1993). Therefore, this study explored first- to second-semester persistence of first-time, full-time freshmen at a public, four-year institution, focusing upon Tinto's concept of separation. The question of how various underlying dimensions of separation influence departure decisions was examined. The dimensions of (1) support and (2) rejection of attitudes and values were found to influence persistence in a statistically significant way.