Lonely or bored: Children’s lived experiences reveal the difference

In spite of the growing body of research on loneliness, the relationship between the phenomena of loneliness and boredom has not been sufficiently addressed, especially in respect to children. The question, “How does the child’s experience of boredom stand phenomenologically in relation to the experience of loneliness?” is explored from a hermeneutic phenomenological perspective. A critical examination of the literature regarding the phenomenology of both loneliness and boredom provides a theoretical background to the study. Elementary school children’s experiential accounts of loneliness and boredom are collected through research conversations. An original interpersonal communication board game is devised and used to initiate these conversations. The themes of loneliness and boredom emerged in a process of phenomenological reflection based on the participants’ lived experiences, the author’s personal experiences, and experiential accounts available in the literature. Distinctions between the two phenomena are derived from the exploration of these themes. Both boredom and loneliness are viewed as important pedagogical ingredients in the formation of the child’s inner self.     

Predictors of Familial Acculturative Stress in Asian American College Students

The authors examined the predictors of familial acculturative stress in 85 Asian American college students. Participants were primarily 1st‐ and 2nd‐generation U.S. citizens. Results showed that perceived acculturative family conflict and family intragroup marginalization were related to higher levels of familial acculturative stress for participants. Family intragroup marginalization accounted for a statistically significant proportion of the variance in familial acculturative stress after all variables were controlled. The findings emphasize the need to recognize culture‐specific stressors of college students. Implications for college counselors are discussed.     

Using Food Science Demonstrations to Engage Students of All Ages in Science,Technology, Engineering,and Mathematics (STEM)

Abstract: The overarching goal of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Initiative is to foster effective STEM teaching and learning throughout the educational system at the local, state, and national levels, thereby producing science literate citizens and a capable STEM workforce. To contribute to achieving this goal, we have assembled six food science demonstrations for use at all educational levels and have presented these lessons to students at the elementary through higher education levels. The focus of this article is to share these food science demonstrations and our experiences using them so that others can use them for engaging students in STEM disciplines, through food science, at any educational level. Featured demonstrations include: (1) liquid nitrogen ice cream: a matter of changing phases, (2) seeing our senses work together, (3) whipping up the cream, (4) milk versus dark: what is the difference?, (5) counting calories by burning them, and (6) culinary spherification: the wonders of cross‐linking. Overall, our experience with using these demonstrations has been very positive. Students appear engaged in the learning process and love to consume the demonstration end products. Downloadable handouts containing demonstration details for each demonstration are available as supporting information.     

The Accuracy and Consistency of a Series of IRT True Score Equatings

This study investigates a sequence of item response theory (IRT) true score equatings based on various scale transformation approaches and evaluates equating accuracy and consistency over time. The results show that the biases and sample variances for the IRT true score equating (both direct and indirect) are quite small (except for the mean/sigma method). The biases and sample variances for the equating functions based on the characteristic curve methods and concurrent calibrations for adjacent forms are smaller than the biases and variances for the equating functions based on the moment methods. In addition, the IRT true score equating is also compared to the chained equipercentile equating, and we observe that the sample variances for the chained equipercentile equating are much smaller than the variances for the IRT true score equating with an exception at the low scores.     

China-ASEAN Relations in Higher Education: An Analytical Framework

China’s dramatic economic rise has tended to overshadow other wider perspectives on the developing China and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) relationship, including in higher education. The article examines contemporary relations between China and ASEAN, set against the longer term development of cultural and trade relations. It is argued that, notwithstanding current territorial disputes, and a history of discrimination against ethnic Chinese in several parts of ASEAN, prospects for a deepening of relations in higher education remain strong. Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam are selected as three instances of the developing relationship in higher education and some of the links traced, with the former assessed as best placed to take advantage of its China relations in higher education. The developing sense of regionalism is seen as likely to further enhance China-ASEAN relations in higher education.     

Child physical abuse and concurrence of other types of child abuse in Sweden-Associations with health and risk behaviors

ObjectiveTo examine the associations between child physical abuse executed by a parent or caretaker and self-rated health problems/risk-taking behaviors among teenagers. Further to evaluate concurrence of other types of abuse and how these alone and in addition to child physical abuse were associated with bad health status and risk-taking behaviors.MethodsA population-based survey was carried out in 2008 among all the pupils in 2 different grades (15 respectively 17 years old) in Södermanland County, Sweden (n = 7,262). The response rate was 81.8%. The pupils were asked among other things about their exposure to child physical abuse, exposure to parental intimate violence, bullying, and exposure to being forced to engage in sexual acts. Adjusted analyses were conducted to estimate associations between exposure and ill-health/risk-taking behaviors.ResultsChild physical abuse was associated with poor health and risk-taking behaviors with adjusted odds ratios (OR) ranging from 1.6 to 6.2. The associations were stronger when the pupils reported repeated abuse with OR ranging from 2.0 to 13.2. Also experiencing parental intimate partner violence, bullying and being forced to engage in sexual acts was associated with poor health and risk-taking behaviors with the same graded relationship to repeated abuse. Finally there was a cumulative effect of multiple abuse in the form of being exposed to child physical abuse plus other types of abuse and the associations increased with the number of concurrent abuse.ConclusionsThis study provides strong indications that child abuse is a serious public health problem based on the clear links seen between abuse and poor health and behavioral problems. Consistent with other studies showing a graded relationship between experiences of abuse and poor health/risk-taking behaviors our study shows poorer outcomes for repeated and multiple abuse. Thus, our study calls for improvement of methods of comprehensive assessments, interventions and treatment in all settings where professionals meet young people.     

语言哲学

本文试图解释一些20世纪英-美哲学家支持的重要主题和理论问题.哲学自身是研究实在的基本成分或人类所拥有的基本概念.因此语言哲学是研究语言理解的最基本概念.最明显的概念是意义、意谓事物的词和句子.然而理解什么是意义并不容易.意义的研究导致了语言哲学的其他概念--句法、语义和语用的产生,这些概念是语义哲学的中心概念.     

Using a wiki to facilitate an online professional learning community for induction and mentoring teachers

The purpose of this case study was to report on the use of a wiki as a tool for conducting online professional learning communities (OLCs) with 26 induction and mentor teachers. Data sources include teachers’ wiki postings and teacher interviews. Results indicate that: (a) Web 2.0 tools may be most effective in OLCs when the social features are utilized in addition to the features that enable task completion; (b) Using Web 2.0 tools restrictively, and without consideration of their affordances, may inhibit the success of OLCs; (c) Online learning communities for induction teachers may be most effective when supplemented with face-to-face discussion; and (d) A task-driven environment in OLCs can encourage professional dialogue and reflection, but may make induction teachers feel isolated and unsupported.     

Surprise and change: Variations in the strength of present and absent cues in causal learning

It is said that “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” But, when and why does an absent event become salient to the heart or to the brain? An absent event may become salient when its nonoccurrence is surprising. Van Hamme and Wasserman (1994) found that a nonpresented but expected stimulus can actually change its associative status—and in the opposite direction from a presented stimulus. Associative models like that of Rescorla and Wagner (1972) focus only on presented cues; so, they cannot explain this result. However, absent cues can be permitted to change their value by assigning different learning parameters to present and absent cues. Van Hamme and Wasserman revised the Rescorla-Wagner model so that the α parameter is positive for present cues, but negative for absent cues; now, changes in the associative strength of absent cues move in the opposite direction as presented ones. This revised Rescorla-Wagner model can thus explain such otherwise vexing empirical findings as backward blocking, recovery from overshadowing, and backward conditioned inhibition. Moreover, the revised model predicts new effects. For example, explicit information about the absence of nonpresented cues should increase their salience (that is, their negative α value should be larger), leading to stronger associative changes than when no explicit mention is made of cue absence. Support for this prediction is detailed in a new causal judgment experiment in which participants rated the effectiveness of different foods’ triggering a patient’s allergic reaction. Overall, these and other findings encourage us to view human causal learning from an associative perspective.