A Prospective Study of Life Stress, Social Support, and Adaptation in Early Adolescence

This study employed a 2-year longitudinal design to examine the relation of stressful life events and social supports to psychological distress and school performance among 166 early adolescents (mean age = 13.5 years). A prospective approach was utilized to control for initial levels of adjustment when examining the relation of Time 1 stress and support variables to Time 2 psychological distress and school performance. Both stress and support variables made significant contributions to the prediction of subsequent psychological distress. Stresses, but not supports, made a significant contribution to the prediction of subsequent school performance. Evidence for reciprocal and interactive linkages was also found, including effects of psychological distress and school performance on subsequent stresses and supports, and greater adaptive impact of school-based supportive resources under conditions of heightened risk outside of school. Implications for ecological and transactional models of development relating to the targeting and efficacy of preventive efforts are discussed.     

Multitasking,but for what benefit? The dilemma facing Nigerian university students regarding part-time working

Students working part-time while studying for a full-time university degree are commonplace in many Western countries. This paper, however, examines the historically uncommon part-time working activities and career aspirations among Nigerian university students. In particular, how working is perceived to contribute to developing employability skills, and whether it is influenced by their self-efficacy. Survey data from 324 questionnaires were collected from a federal university, although the data analysis used a mixed method. The findings indicate that despite low levels of part-time working generally among students, older, more experienced, higher level and female students place a premium on the skills that part-time work can develop. Moreover, self-efficacy and being female is a significant predictor in understanding part-time work and career aspirations. This study offers originality by focusing on students’ part-time work, the value working provides and its link with career aspirations, within a relatively unexplored context of Nigeria.     

Elementary school teachers’ preferences for school‐based interventions for students with emotional and behavioral problems

Teachers’ adoption and implementation of evidence‐based programs is often limited. Program characteristics may be important facilitators or barriers of use, yet little is known about which attributes influence teacher decisions. Using a discrete choice experiment with a sample of general education elementary teachers (N = 230), we examined (a) preference for attributes of school‐based interventions, (b) relative preference for three intervention packages with experimentally manipulated characteristics, and (c) teacher characteristics related to the above preference profiles. Intervention outcomes were the most important characteristics in teachers’ intervention decisions. Most teachers’ responses suggested preference for a social and emotional learning program (57.9%) or school‐based consultation for behavioral interventions (35.8%); a small group of teachers preferred a general support intervention (5.8%). Teachers preferring the general support intervention reported greater mental health symptoms, lower mental health literacy and lower confidence in program effectiveness than peers preferring other interventions. Implications for intervention development and future directions are discussed.     

Student evaluation of audience response technology in large lecture classes

In the past few years, audience response technology (ART) has been widely adopted on college campuses, and is especially popular among instructors of large lecture classes. Claims regarding ART’s benefits to students have received only limited empirical evaluation, and prior studies exhibit methodological limitations. The current study provides a multi-dimensional evaluation, utilizing a newly-developed measure, the Audience Response Technology Questionnaire (ART-Q). Data were provided at three points during a semester by undergraduate students (n = 854) who used ART in three large lecture university courses. Results indicate moderately positive evaluations of ART on some dimensions (e.g., ease of use, impact on attendance), with less positive evaluations on others (e.g., influence on preparation for class). These evaluations showed some variability across time of semester and course, but were not substantially affected by gender, ethnicity, or year in school. Findings are discussed with respect to the need for future research on instructors’ techniques for using ART and their influence on student perceptions and outcomes.

Structure and prevalence of PTSD symptomology in children who have experienced a severe tornado

Children served by school psychologists are frequently impacted by natural disasters. In the United States, tornadoes are a particular threat but have been studied very little. The current investigation developed a scale for assessing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children in Kindergarten to Grade 6 impacted by a severe tornado. Six factors were found: Avoidance, Re‐experiencing, Interpersonal Alienation, Interference with Daily Functioning, Physical Symptoms/Anxiety, and Foreshortened Future. Prevalence rates for PTSD symptomology ranged from 34 to 44% for factor scores and 41% for meeting all three Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, fourth edition‐text revision (DSM‐IV‐TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) criteria; 40% indicated no symptoms. Children's fear during the tornado and damage to their school were related to many factor scores. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 283–295, 2006.     

Sociocultural input facilitates children's developing understanding of extraordinary minds

Three- to 5-year-old (N = 61) religiously schooled preschoolers received theory-of-mind (ToM) tasks about the mental states of ordinary humans and agents with exceptional perceptual or mental capacities. Consistent with an anthropomorphism hypothesis, children beginning to appreciate limitations of human minds (e.g., ignorance) attributed those limits to God. Only 5-year-olds differentiated between humans' fallible minds and God's less fallible mind. Unlike secularly schooled children, religiously schooled 4-year-olds did appreciate another agent's less fallible mental abilities when instructed and reminded about those abilities. Among children who understood ordinary humans' mental fallibilities, knowledge of God predicted attributions of correct epistemic states to extraordinary agents. Results suggest that, at a certain point in ToM development, sociocultural input can facilitate an appreciation for extraordinary minds.     

Proving Our Worth: The Impact of Electronic Resource Usage on Academic Achievement

Samford University Library conducted a study to determine correlation between library use and student achievement. This research used electronic resources as a measure of library use and grade point average as an indicator of academic success. The data demonstrate that students with higher GPAs tend to use library online resources more and with a higher frequency than those with lower GPAs. While this does not prove that use of online resources leads to a higher GPA, it provides strong evidence that the two are positively correlated for some populations. This study provides persuasive evidence of the library's contribution to the academic success of students.     

Photography

Pamela Jeffcott Parry's Photography Index: A Guide to Reproductions (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1979–$25.00)

Hilary Evans' The Art of Picture Research: A Guide to Current Practice, Procedure, Techniques and Resources (Newton Abbot, Y.K.; and North Pomfret, Vt.: David & Charles, 1979—$28.00)

Melissa Milar, ed. 1980 Photographer's Market: Where to Sell Your Photographs (Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Rooks, 1979—$12.95)

Photographis '79 (New York: Hastings House, 1979–$49.50)

John Sander's Photography Year Book 1979 (New York: Fountain Press/Hastings House, 1979—$24.95)

Harold E. Edgerton and James R. Killian, Jr.'s Moments of Vision: The Stroboscopic Revolution in Photography (Cambridge, Ma.: MIT Press, 1979—$20.00)

Deborah Turbeville's Wallflower (New York: Congreve Publishing Co, 1978—$27.50)

Robert L. Kerns' Photojournalism: Photography with a Purpose (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1980—$14.95)

Focalguide to Slides by Graham Saxby (New York: Focal/Hastings House, 1979- 46.95, Paper)

Focalguide to Close-Ups by Sidney F. Ray (1978--$6.95, paper)     

Canada

EACH MOMENT AS IT FLIES, writings by Harry Bruce (Toronto: Methuen, 1984--- $18.95; 283 pp.)

CONTEMPORARY CANADIAN PHOTOGRAPHY FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE NATIONAL FILM BOARD (Edmonton: Hurtig, 1984--$29.95 176 pp.):

JOHN GRIERSON AND THE NFB (Toronto: ECW Press, 1984---$8.95, paper, 155 pp.)

JOHN GRIERSON AND THE NATIONAL FILL BOARD: THE POLITICS OF WARTIME PROPAGANDA by Gary Evans (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1984---$24.95, 329 pp.)

NEWS ACCOUNTS OF ATTACKS ON WOMEN A COMPARISON OF THREE TORONTO NEWSPAPERS by Sophia E. Voumakis and Richard V Ericson (Toronto: University of Toront( Centre of Criminology, 1984---$5.00 paper, 98 pp.)

LOOKING FOR TROUBLE: A JOURNALIST'S LIFE...AND THEN SOME by Peter Worthington (Toronto: Key Porter Books, 1984--- $24.95, 470 pp.)

PROCEEDINGS OF COMMUNICATION IN THE 80'S: MAJOR ISSUES edited by T. McPhail and S. Hamilton (Calgary: University of Calgary Communications Studies Program, 1985---$15.00, 162 pp.)

THE NEWSPAPERING MURRAYS by Georgina Keddell (Toronto: Goodread Biographies, 1984---$5.95, paper, 301 pp.)

BORDEN SPEARS: REPORTER, EDITOR, CRITIC compiled and edited by Dick MacDonald (Toronto: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 1984--$12.95, paper, 220 pp.)

THE THOMSON EMPIRE by Susan Goldenberg (Toronto: Methuen, 1984--$24.95, 260 pp.)

BYLINE CANADA: THE 1984 NATIONAL NEWSPAPER AWARDS edited by Andrew MacFarlane (Toronto: Methuen, 1984-- $12.95, paper, 206 pp.)

CULTURE STATISTICS: NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS, 1981 (Ottawa: Education, Culture and Tourism Division, Statistics Canada, 1983---$6.35, paper, 52 pp.)

CHINA HANDS: THE GLOBE AND MAIL IN PEKING by Charles Taylor (Toronto: Mc- Clleland and Stewart, 1984---$16.95, 363 pp.)

LOVE'S SWEET RETURN: THE HARLEQUIN STORY by Margaret Ann Jensen (Toronto: The Women's Press, 1984---$9.95, paper, 188 pp.)

THE UPPER LEFT-HAND CORNER: A WRITER'S GUIDE FOR THE NORTHWEST (Vancouver: International Self-Counsel Press, 1984---$10.95, paper, 122 pp.)

MANAGING DIVERSITY: FEDERAL-PROVINCIAL COLLABORATION AND THE COMMITTEE ON EXTENSION OF SERVICES TO NORTHERN AND REMOTE COMMUNITIES by Catherine A. Murray (Kingston, Ontario: Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, Qns, Queens University, 1983---$19.00, 173 pp.)

MOVEMENTS AND MESSAGES: MEDIA AND RADICAL POLITICS IN QUEBEC by Marc Raboy (Toronto: Between the Lines, 1984--- $18.95, 165 pp.)

CANADIAN POLITICS THROUGH PRESS REPORTS edited by Donald C. Wallace and Frederick J. Fletcher (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1984---$11.95, paper, 227 pp.)

MEDIA AND ELECTIONS IN CANADA by Walter Soderland, et al. (Toronto: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1984---$9.95, paper, 163 pp.)

ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT IN CANADA by Rene Darmon and Michael Laroche (Toronto: Wiley Canada, 1984--$33.95, 577 pp.)

THE DYNAMICS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR by Winston Mahatoo (Toronto: Wiley Canada, 1985---$34.95)

FINDING CANADIAN FACTS FAST by Stephen Overbury (Toronto: Methuen, 1985 ---$19.95, 192 pp.)