The Effects of Perfectionism and Dispositional Self-focused Attention of Novice Counselor on Psychological Burnout: Moderated Mediating Effects of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies

International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling - The current study investigated the mediation effect of self-focused attention on the relationship between South Korean novice...     

Study for optical manipulation of a surfactant-covered droplet using lattice Boltzmann method

In this study, we simulated deformation and surfactant distribution on the interface of a surfactant-covered droplet using optical tweezers as an external source. Two optical forces attracted a single droplet from the center to both sides. This resulted in an elliptical shape deformation. The droplet deformation was characterized as the change of the magnitudes of surface tension and optical force. In this process, a non-linear relationship among deformation, surface tension, and optical forces was observed. The change in the local surfactant concentration resulting from the application of optical forces was also analyzed and compared with the concentration of surfactants subjected to an extensional flow. Under the optical force influence, the surfactant molecules were concentrated at the droplet equator, which is totally opposite to the surfactants behavior under extensional flow, where the molecules were concentrated at the poles. Lastly, the quasi-equilibrium surfactant distribution was obtained by combining the effects of the optical forces with the extensional flow. All simulations were executed by the lattice Boltzmann method which is a powerful tool for solving micro-scale problems.     

Orthographic learning in Spanish children

In order to read fluently, children have to form orthographic representations. Despite numerous investigations, there is no clear answer to the question of the number of times they need to read a word to form an orthographic representation. We used length effect on reading times as a measure, because there are large differences between long and short words for unknown words, differences that disappear when reading frequent words. Two lists of new words (half short and half long) were presented to 102 second‐grade to sixth‐grade Spanish children, to be read aloud six times. One of the lists was presented as part of a story and the other in isolation. Comparison of the length effect at the first and sixth exposure showed large differences between short and long words in the first presentation and small differences at the sixth presentation, indicating that Spanish children develop representations of words after just a few repetitions.     

Improving the Academic Performance of Non‐native English‐Speaking Students: the Contribution of Pre‐sessional English Language Programmes

There is an established, if weak, inverse relationship between levels of English language proficiency and academic performance in higher education. In response, higher education institutions (HEIs) insist upon minimum entry requirements concerning language for international applicants. Many HEIs now also offer pre‐sessional English courses to bring applicants up to the designated language requirement. This paper revisits the research into language proficiency and academic performance using data on all full‐time students (17,925) attending a major UK HEI in the academic year 2011–2012, 4,342 of whom were non‐native English speakers. The findings confirm that while higher International English Language Testing System (IELTS) marks at entry translate into higher grade point averages (GPAs), students who undertake pre‐sessional courses do notably worse in GPA terms than students who arrive with acceptable (for the course) IELTS scores. These findings suggest HEIs (and, by extension, international students) could benefit from a review regarding the appropriateness of current pre‐sessional English language proficiency programmes.