Internalizing symptoms of gifted and non-gifted elementary-age students: A comparative validity study using the Internalizing Symptoms Scale for Children

As part of the validation research process for a new self-report social-emotional test for children, internalizing social-emotional symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety, social withdrawal, somatic complaints, positive and negative affectivity) of a group of elementary-age gifted students (n = 65) were contrasted with those of a carefully matched (by gender and age) comparison group of non-gifted students (n = 65). Subjects completed the Internalizing Symptoms Scale for Children (ISSC) (Merrell & Walters, 1996), a self-report measure of internalizing symptoms, affect, and cognition. The gifted students reported significantly fewer internalizing symptoms than did the comparison group. An analysis of critical items separating the two groups indicated that the gifted students differed most substantially from their non-gifted peers on ISSC items that relate to self-efficacy and perceived self-importance. Although these types of self-perceptions are considered to be a peripheral rather than a central component of specific internalizing disorders, it is hypothesized that their positive presence in children may act as a “buffering” factor, possibly insulating children from insults to their social-emotional functioning that may lead to the development of internalizing forms of psychopathology. The results of this investigation are discussed in terms of their relationship to conflicting previous research in this area, to future research needs in the study of social-emotional symptoms and development of gifted children, and in terms of the construct validity evidence for the ISSC. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

TweetStorm in #ferguson: How News Organizations Framed Dominant Authority,Anti-Authority,and Political Figures in a Restive Community

After Officer Darren Wilson fatally shot African American teen Michael Brown in August 2014, rioters unleashed their anger on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri. Using content analysis and framing theory, this study analyzed how news organizations covered events in Ferguson on Twitter over the course of a month immediately following the shooting. Protesters were framed as troublemakers; but community leaders were not framed as “rabble-rousers.” Journalists continued to rely on official sources more than alternate sources in spite of criticism of law enforcement and other political elites, but nearly 10% of the coded tweets that relied on official sources included some element of skepticism. Tweets from cable news outlets did not show partisan bias in any significant amount; and traditional legacy news media sources utilized the Twitter platform enhancements—such as article links, photos, links to other content, or hashtags—more than their new digital media counterparts. As Twitter launched #ferguson into the national consciousness, it is quite plausible that the framing of the tweets by news agencies may have molded perceptions of larger issues about the racial health of the nation, established policies of law enforcement, and the challenge of elected leaders to resolve explosive domestic problems.     

Students’ Attitudes Toward Gene Technology: Deconstructing a Construct

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Emergent technologies are commonly characterized as involving cutting-edge developments while lacking wide-scale public implementation. Although...     

Web 2.0 and Transfer: Trainers' Use of Technology to Support Employees' Learning Transfer on the Job

We steer transfer research in a new direction by examining the use of Web 2.0 technologies for supporting learning transfer resulting from formal training. We report survey results from training professionals (N = 83) on how their organization uses such methods to cue and support workers’ application of learned knowledge and skills on the job. Guided by the technology acceptance model (TAM) theory, we examined predictor variables found to influence technology use based on empirical and theoretical support in the information technology (IT) literature. Results indicate that trainers are influenced by several individual factors (computer experience, computer anxiety, and computer self‐efficacy), as well as their organization's learning climate, to use Web 2.0 tools to support transfer of learning. Trainers also prefer to use social media, networking applications, and visual media to support transfer among learners. We discuss implications for using Web 2.0 technologies in support of learning transfer and provide directions for future workplace learning research.     

Differences Between Patient and Provider Perceptions of Informed Decision Making About Epidural Analgesia Use During Childbirth

The objective of this study was to determine whether differences exist between patient and provider perceptions regarding the decision-making process around use of epidural analgesia during childbirth. The dyadic patient–provider Decisional Conflict Scale was modified to measure first-time mother (n = 35) and maternity care provider (n = 52) perceptions. Providers perceived a greater degree of informed decision making than patients (84.97 vs. 79.41, p = .04) and were more likely to recall they upheld patients’ rights to make informed choices than patients were to perceive their rights had been upheld (85.95 vs. 71.73, p < .01). This incongruity highlights the need to align legal principles with practice to create mutual agreement between stakeholder perceptions of informed decision making.     

Place and student subjectivities in Higher Education ‘cold spots’

Abstract

This article uses an analytical framework informed by social geographies to explore the complex relationships between Higher Education Institution, undergraduate student and place. Drawing on findings from a qualitative study exploring the experiences of college-based Higher Education students studying degree courses in Further Education Colleges in England, the article sees student subjectivities as structured through inequalities of institutional positioning in a stratified system as well as through layered local histories of industrial loss. Taken as an instance of undergraduate education in a massified and geographically unequal national context, the findings in this article offer an insight into the contradictory role played by Higher Education in its local area, particularly where a local area is defined by both a lack of and a need for increased educational opportunity.     

An Exponential Misconception

This article points out an unexpected but common misconception by students dealing with the exponential distribution.