Conversation as a key to the understanding of human nature∗

Using the transactionist perspective in our communication with others involves constructing those others with whom we communicate. An exercise called “Reflections” focuses on the inferences, assumptions, and guesses we make as we select from the cues others give off — cues necessary for the process of determining our definition of them. Useful in secondary, community college and college classrooms, “Reflections” can serve as a valuable, interesting, and unique classroom experience. This essay discusses the implementation and the outcome of the exercise as well as some of the reactions students have to it.     

Helping parents to become partners in the education of their handicapped child

Conclusions Educators are beginning to seek methods of improving parent-child relationships and school and parent relationships, as the evidence accrues and is assimilated, which shows how much more important is the child's family experience. The handicapped child brings the desirability of successful home and school links into clear focus, as the six-hour school day is clearly inadequate for the needs of many severely handicapped children, who require a consistent programme of developmental experiences from waking to sleeping. The only way in which the trust and confidence imposed by close relationships in the home may be continued in the school is by a mutual effort directed at common goals: the development of the child's capacity to learn and care for himself. Perhaps it is the similarity of the tasks undertaken in home and in school, with the severely and profoundly handicapped child, the severely and profoundly handicapped child, which has shown just how powerful the home-and-school combination can be when working in harmony. There are clearly lessons here for the education system at large. Perhaps the longstanding schism between parents and schools can be bridged in the next decades.The importance of social abilities, self-help skills and the confidence which all emanate from a successful family life, are emphasized by Smith and Sykes (1981) and others, who show that social competency is perhaps the key factor in determining vocational and post-school success for handicapped students. These competencies and confidence cannot come from school alone. The initiatives alluded to in this article, and described in full in the literature cited, show that schools have come a long way from believing that they alone can cope.Has written a number of studies on the development of education for the visually handicapped.     

Value of Family and Group Counseling Models Where Grandparents Function as Parents to their Grandchildren

Those involved in circumstances in which children are raised by their grandparents often encounter serious problems that require assistance from counselors. Research suggests that grandparents and parents in these families typically experience heightened stress and psychosocial distress. Additionally, the children often encounter behavioral, emotional, and academic difficulties. These difficulties usually occur partly as a result of the factors that lead to grandparents having to assume responsibility for the children. This paper provides a report of the phenomenon, particularly as it relates to the various members’ psychosocial well-being. In addition, family and group counseling are advanced as valuable relational psychotherapeutic models to enhance the well-being of the children, grandparents and parents involved.     

未来气候变化对鄱阳湖区土地利用变化的影响评估

为了评估未来气候变化可能对鄱阳湖区土地利用变化产生的影响,本文根据IPCC的建议,利用新近建立的基于主体的土地利用变化模拟模型,详细分析了4种气候变化情景下鄱阳湖区1985-2035年的土地利用变化过程。这4种气候变化情景分别为A1B(经济高速增长模式)、A2(区域经济多样化增长模式)、B1(引进更多清洁能源的经济增长模式)和情景4(无气候变化模式)。在这些气候变化情景中,由于耕地的农业生产潜力差异显著,农户主体的收入和他们对土地利用方式的决策也发生了相应的改变。通过对这一过程的模拟和结果分析,发现气候变化可能有利于鄱阳湖区土地利用变化向着环境友好的方向自我调整。与A1B和A2两种气候变化情景相比,B1情景对土地利用变化的影响更具环境友好性。     

Show me the money! An empirical analysis of mentoring outcomes for women in academia

This paper discusses and comprehensively evaluates a mentoring scheme for junior female academics. The program aimed to address the under‐representation of women in senior positions by increasing participation in networks and improving women’s research performance. A multifaceted, longitudinal design, including a control group, was used to evaluate the success of mentoring in terms of the benefits for the women and for the university. The results indicate mentoring was very beneficial, showing that mentees were more likely to stay in the university, received more grant income and higher level of promotion, and had better perceptions of themselves as academics compared with non‐mentored female academics. This indicates that not only do women themselves benefit from mentoring but that universities can confidently implement well‐designed initiatives, knowing that they will receive a significant return on investment.     

Predicting adolescent truancy: The importance of distinguishing between different aspects of instructional quality

Little is known about the association of classroom characteristics with adolescent truancy. A critical question is whether high achievement standards, high workload, and fast pace protect against or increase adolescent truancy. In this study, self-reports from 3491 Swiss grade 7, grade 8 and grade 9 students in 202 classes were used to predict truancy. Multilevel modeling was used to differentiate between the student and the class levels. High achievement standards were associated with a lower truancy rate at both the student and the class level, whereas fast instructional pace was associated with more truancy at both levels. A perception of the workload as being too low was an additional predictor of high truancy at both the student and the class level.