Beyond Stimulus Deprivation: Iron Deficiency and Cognitive Deficits in Postinstitutionalized Children

Children adopted from institutions have been studied as models of the impact of stimulus deprivation on cognitive development (Nelson, Bos, Gunnar, & Sonuga‐Barke, 2011), but these children may also suffer from micronutrient deficiencies (Fuglestad et al., 2008). The contributions of iron deficiency (ID) and duration of deprivation on cognitive functioning in children adopted from institutions between 17 and 36 months of age were examined. ID was assessed in 55 children soon after adoption, and cognitive functioning was evaluated 11–14.6 months postadoption when the children averaged 37.4 months old (SD = 4.9). ID at adoption and longer duration of institutional care independently predicted lower IQ scores and executive function (EF) performance. IQ did not mediate the association between ID and EF.     

Adult attachment, parent emotion, and observed parenting behavior: mediator and moderator models

In a middle-class sample of mothers of 2-year-olds, adult attachment classifications measured in the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) were related to maternal self-reported emotional well-being and observed parenting behavior, and the potential mediating and moderating roles of maternal emotion were tested. Mothers classified as dismissing on the AAI reported significantly lower levels of positive affectivity. Mothers classified as preoccupied reported significantly higher levels of negative affectivity and anxiety. Preoccupied mothers were observed to be significantly higher on angry/intrusive parenting, but this association was not mediated by attachment-related differences in maternal emotion. Maternal emotional well-being did, however, moderate the associations between adult attachment and parenting behavior: Dismissing attachment was significantly associated with lower warmth/responsiveness only among mothers with higher levels of depressive symptoms.     

Event-related Potentials in Year-Old Infants: Relations with Emotionality and Cortisol

Event-related po-potentials (ERPs) were recorded from year-old infants presented with sets of familiar faces presented frequently and infrequently, and a set of novel faces presented infrequently. The normative response of infants in this sample was a late positive slow wave to the Infrequent Familiar faces, and a return to baseline to the Frequent Familiar and Infrequent Novel faces (although there was a tendency for some infants to show a positive slow wave to the latter events). A factor score based on data from frontal and central leads that reflected this normative pattern was significantly associated with infant emotional behavior and cortisol. Infants scoring higher on the normative ERP factor were more distressed during separation, were reported by their parents to smile and laugh more, and had lower cortisol concentrations during ERP testing. These data were interpreted as reflecting the coordination of adaptive responding among different physiological and behavioral systems.     

Toddlers' and Preschoolers' Experience in Family Day Care: Age Differences and Behavioral Correlates

One hundred and twelve children, 56 toddlers and 56 preschoolers, were observed in their family child care settings to determine whether toddlers cared for in settings that also included preschoolers were, relative to the preschoolers, receiving more or less high-quality care and/or whether their functioning at child care appeared to be more or less dependent on aspects of the care providers’ interactions with the children. Quality of care was analyzed along two dimensions: sensitive/supportive care and structured care. Four indices of child functioning at child care were examined: integration in social activities, attention, positive mood, and angry/aggressive behavior. Results indicate that toddlers received less sensitive, supportive care than preschoolers in these mixed-age settings and toddlers were less socially integrated and less engaged in activities in the child care setting. Preschoolers displayed increased levels of angry/aggressive behavior relative to toddlers. In addition, associations of care provider behaviors and child functioning were larger for toddlers than preschoolers, suggesting that toddlers were more dependent on caregiver support for more successful functioning in these family child care settings. For both toddlers and preschoolers, care provider behavior and child functioning was generally poorer in settings with more children.     

Adrenocortical Responses to the Strange Situation in Infants with Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment Relationships

Salivary cortisol levels were assessed in 19-month-old infants following the Ainsworth Strange Situation procedure. 38 infants participating in Project Steep at the University of Minnesota served as subjects. Project Steep is a longitudinal intervention program designed to promote healthy parent-child relationships and to prevent emotional problems among children born to mothers who are at high risk for parenting problems. Following the Strange Situation, saliva samples were collected and assayed for cortisol, a steroid hormone frequently examined in studies of stress. Behavior during the Strange Situation was coded by trained coders, and attachment classifications were determined for each infant. Cortisol concentrations did not differ between the 6 Avoidant/Resistant (A/C) and 17 Securely Attached (B) toddlers. Toddlers ( n = 11) who were classified as having Disorganized/Disoriented (Type D) attachments exhibited higher cortisol concentrations than toddlers in the traditional (ABC) classifications. Results of this study were consistent with a model of stress reactivity that conceptualizes the organization of coping behaviors as a factor that mediates physiological stress responses.     

Supervisory Behaviour as Perceived by Secondary School Teachers in Nigeria

This article focuses on the concept of work‐organization in general and the adaptation of this concept to the (Swedish) school‐system in particular. One major point stressed by the authors is that the work‐organization of the school is not purely a question of technical forms of administration. When establishing work‐organization it is of crucial importance to take the functions of the school into consideration. This means that the first step is to focus the content of the organizational activities and then build up administrative forms which facilitate a goal‐oriented work.     

Research into the School as an Organization. II: The School as a Complex Organization

Berg, G. & Wallin, E. 1982. Research into the School as an Organization. II: The School as a Complex Organization. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 26, 161‐181. This article starts by examining the development of general organization theory, then proposes an overall organization model for analysing the school. A distinction is made between the school as an institution and the school as an organization, the latter defined as a function of the control emanating from the societal and the ‘actor’ level. A set of conceptual tools believed to describe and analyse the school as an organization is outlined. In the latter part of the article an illustration of how the theoretical discussion can be applied to practical situations is given, firstly by an analysis of a case study and secondly by giving examples of factors worth taking into account in concrete analyses of the organizational structures of schools.     

Searle,Merleau-Ponty,Rizzolatti – three perspectives on Intentionality and action in sport

Actions in sport are intentional in character. They are directed at and are about something. This understanding of intentional action is common in continental as well as analytic philosophy. In sport philosophy, intentionality has received relatively little attention, but has more recently come on the agenda. In addition to what we can call ‘action intentionality,’ studied by philosophers like Searle, the phenomenological approach forwarded by Merleau-Ponty has opened up for a concept of ‘motor intentionality,’ which means a basic bodily attention and relatedness to the surrounding world. This conception is very relevant for the study of bodily actions as we find them in sports. However, there may be even deeper layers. The identification of mirror neurons in the brain has opened up for a type of almost ‘muscular intentionality’ whereby a simple bodily movement like grasping a cup to drink seems to be intentionally controlled and orchestrated. My goal in this paper is to discuss the relation between different levels of intentionality, such as a) ‘action intentionality’ operating at a conscious cognitive level, as for instance, when a player shoots a goal in football, b) the ‘motor intentionality’ directing the bodily movements when kicking the ball, and c) the muscular ‘mirror neuron intentionality’ of the goal keeper which is in operation when the keeper is seeing how the kicker’s foot hits the ball. How are these different layers of intentionality related and how can they give a more nuanced and integrated picture of the body–mind in action in sports?