Sexual behavior problems in sexually abused children: a preliminary typology

OBJECTIVE: The goal was to develop an empirically derived typology for sexually abused children exhibiting sexual behavior problems to assist practitioners in differential assessment, treatment, and case planning. METHOD: Data were systematically gathered from the clinical records of 100 sexually abused children, aged 3 years to 7 years, enrolled in two treatment programs. Twelve indexes were created corresponding to major areas of child and family history, functioning, and treatment response. After initial sorting into subgroups based on the presence or absence of interpersonal sexual behavior problems, further subdivision was based on hierarchical cluster analysis. RESULTS: Five distinctive sexual behavior profiles emerged: (1) developmentally expected; and developmentally problematic (2) interpersonal, unplanned, (3) self-focused, (4) interpersonal, planned (noncoercive), and (5) interpersonal, planned (coercive). Elements of the child's sexual abuse experience, opportunities to learn/practice problematic sexual behavior, and familial variables best differentiated between the types. CONCLUSIONS: The five types differed not only in child sexual behavior but in most areas of child and family functioning, including treatment outcome. The findings offer support for the development of an empirically-based typology for children with sexual behavior problems utilizing a range of variables which go beyond typical classification systems based on offender and victim characteristics.     

The conversational frame in public address

Conversationalism has been hailed as the hallmark of modern eloquence, yet its political and ethical implications have received little attention. This essay explores the diverse forms and motives of the conversational frame in public address. By framing their remarks and transactions with their listeners as conversational, orators may attempt to reconstruct or seem to reconstruct speaker‐audience relationships and to position themselves and their audiences within networks of reciprocal rights and obligations.     

Creating Leaders Through the Teacher Learning and Leadership Program

Leadership is a skill that can be learned through professional development, mentoring, and leadership development programs. In Ontario, the Teacher Learning and Leadership Program (TLLP) helps educators develop their leadership skills through a Ministry of Education–funded project that addresses student learning needs in their classrooms. This article examines how the TLLP built the foundation for a teacher to lead beyond his classroom and continues to develop leadership skills in others across the province.     

Three Worlds: new directions in participant development in sport and physical activity

The twin challenges of inactivity and the 2012 Olympics have tightened the focus in UK sport promotion. However, the twin track approach which treats these challenges as distinct concerns may limit the efficacy of interventions in either area. We propose that a continuum between participation, performance sport and elite achievement represents the most efficacious and logical focus for practitioners and researchers alike. We explore the genesis of this, and other problematic features through critical consideration of key theories. Finally, we propose a multidimensional approach to lifelong sport and activity participation as a theoretically justified basis for research and intervention design.     

An exploration of the feature-positive effect in adult humans

Experiment 1 compared the acquisition of a feature-positive and a feature-negative discrimination in humans. In the former, an outcome was signaled by two stimuli together, but not by one of these stimuli alone. In the latter, the outcome was signaled by one stimulus alone, but not by two stimuli together. Using a within-group design, the experiment revealed that the feature-positive discrimination was acquired more readily than the feature-negative discrimination. Experiment 2 tested an explanation for these results, based on the Rescorla-Wagner theory, by examining how novel discriminations, based on a combination of a feature-positive and a feature-negative discrimination, were solved. The results did not accord with predictions from the theory. Alternative explanations for the results are considered.     

The first year university experience: using personal epistemology to understand effective learning and teaching in higher education

Personal epistemological beliefs, or beliefs about knowing, provide a way in which to understand learning in a range of educational contexts because they are considered to act as filters for all other knowledge and beliefs. In particular, they provide a useful framework for investigating learning and teaching for first year students in tertiary education, who are typically considered to hold less sophisticated epistemological beliefs. Using semi-structured interviews, this study investigated the nature of beliefs about knowing and learning of 35 first year teacher education and creative writing students at a large metropolitan university in Australia. The interview analysis indicated that a relationship existed between individuals’ core beliefs about knowing and their beliefs about learning. This relationship has implications for the way in which we support first year students’ learning as they transition into university and progress through their courses.