Big girls don't cry: the effect of child witness demeanor on juror decisions in a child sexual abuse trial

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effect of child witness demeanor (defined as crying) on mock jurors' decisions in a simulated First-Degree rape trial. METHOD: One hundred and thirty-three undergraduates serving in the role of mock jurors read a trial summary in which the primary independent variable was the demeanor of the alleged child victim (i.e., calm, teary, hysterical crying). In addition to reading the summary, participants viewed pencil drawings of the witnesses that were presented as "courtroom drawings." RESULTS: The results showed that the teary condition led to more guilty verdicts and a greater belief in the alleged victim than the other demeanor conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study indicate that demeanor can impact the perception of a child who is an alleged sexual assault victim in court. However, it is not simply the case that any display of demeanor will lead to a positive outcome for the alleged victim. Instead, it appears that too little or too much emotion from the alleged child victim negatively affected credibility in the eyes of the mock jurors.     

Electrical rectification

Owing to the saturation of the efficiency of silicon devices in electronics industry, molecular electronics has gained tremendous impetus in recent times. Theoretical predictions and experimental realizations of such systems have given birth to a new generation of miniaturized electronic devices. Organic molecules with delocalized π-electrons show a promising future in this aspect. The long-standing history and interesting properties of two isomeric organic molecules, naphthalene and azulene, motivate us to explore their electrical conductance property and possible electronic device applications that exploit the unique characteristics associated with their structural aspects. Single molecule of azulene shows higher conductivity than naphthalene. The charge transfer from the seven-membered ring to the five-membered ring in azulene gives the system aromatic stability, making it dipolar. As a consequence, the conductance becomes asymmetric for forward and reverse bias, opening an efficient application of azulene as molecular rectifier in electronic device fabrication.     

Post‐primary Teacher Training in Ireland: principles and patterns

This paper examines recent developments in post‐primary teacher training in Ireland, set against the background of major expansion in the provision of post‐primary schooling. It includes a relatively detailed examination of the consecutive model which is the predominant mode as well as the one with deep historical roots. The efforts which are being made to give the consecutive model a more ‘professional’ emphasis are discussed. Account is taken of the on‐going problems which exist in relation to this model.

The concurrent model for post‐primary teacher trainees evolved during the seventies and affects teachers of specialist subject areas such as physical education, crafts and art. The mode of operation of this pattern is explored and some of its advantages are commented on. The paper is rounded off by a brief note on induction and in‐service training for post‐primary teachers, particularly in so far as these affect pre‐service preparation. The non‐implementation by the Government of the proposed teaching council for Ireland and the recessionary budget context indicate that continued reforms will have to be processed within the existing frameworks.     

Jump Distance Increases While Carrying Handheld Weights: Impulse, History, and Jump Performance in a Simple Lab Exercise

This laboratory exercise is designed to provide an understanding of the mechanical concept of impulse as it applies to human movement and athletic performance. Students compare jumps performed with and without handheld weights. Contrary to initial expectation, jump distance is increased with moderate additional weights. This was familiar to Ancient Greek athletes where halteres were a part of the original Olympic jumping sports. The effectiveness of this laboratory was assessed with a prelab questionnaire evaluating understanding of the concepts relevant to jumping mechanics and a postlab questionnaire assessing understanding of the same principles in the context of a different but mechanically analogous circumstance, that of throwing. Results indicate that understanding improved significantly as a result of participation in the laboratory exercise.     

Higher education and the achievement (and/or prevention) of equity and social justice

The article examines the theoretical and empirical literature on higher education’s role in relation to social equity and related notions of citizenship, social justice, social cohesion and meritocracy. It considers both the education and the research functions of higher education and how these impact upon different sections of society, on who benefits and who loses from them. Questions for future research on the wider impact of higher education are posed as well as some research questions on the narrower issue of widening participation.     

The Big-fish–little-pond-effect Stands Up to Critical Scrutiny: Implications for Theory, Methodology, and Future Research

The big-fish–little-pond effect (BFLPE) predicts that equally able students have lower academic self-concepts (ASCs) when attending schools where the average ability levels of classmates is high, and higher ASCs when attending schools where the school-average ability is low. BFLPE findings are remarkably robust, generalizing over a wide variety of different individual student and contextual level characteristics, settings, countries, long-term follow-ups, and research designs. Because of the importance of ASC in predicting future achievement, coursework selection, and educational attainment, the results have important implications for the way in which schools are organized (e.g., tracking, ability grouping, academically selective schools, and gifted education programs). In response to Dai and Rinn (Educ. Psychol. Rev., 2008), we summarize the theoretical model underlying the BFLPE, minimal conditions for testing the BFLPE, support for its robust generalizability, its relation to social comparison theory, and recent research extending previous implications, demonstrating that the BFLPE stands up to scrutiny. Quotations (associated page numbers) to the Dai and Rinn (2008) article are based on a prepublication version of the article available to the authors of this article that may have changed during the final preparation for publication. The authors would also like to express thanks to David Dai and Anne Rinn for their encouragement and assistance to us in preparation of our article, whilst still acknowledging that they might not agree will all the views expressed here.     

Insect detectives

Insects are increasingly being used to trace absconding murderers. A fascinating branch of insect science (entomology)—forensic entomology—is introduced in this article.     

挑选高等教育杰作

本文对《美国高等教育经典著作百种》的选编特点、主要类别与部分著作及其作者作了简明扼要的说明。