Relationship maintenance behaviors

Canary, D. J., & Dainton, M. (Eds.) (2003). Maintaining relationships through communication: Relational, contextual, and cultural variations. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.     

Parental Expressivity,Child Physiological and Behavioral Regulation,and Child Adjustment: Testing a Three-Path Mediation Model

Research Findings: Parental expressivity, child physiological regulation (indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia suppression), child behavioral regulation, and child adjustment outcomes were examined in 45 children (M age = 4.32 years, SD = 1.30) and their parents. With the exception of child adjustment (i.e., internalizing and externalizing problems and adaptive skills), which were assessed with parents' ratings, all variables were observed behaviorally or physiologically. A 3-path mediation path model was tested with the relations between parental expressivity and child adjustment outcomes mediated through child physiological regulation and behavioral regulation. Despite low power to detect the mediated effect, there was evidence to suggest that physiological regulation and behavioral regulation were 2 mediating mechanisms by which parental high positive/low negative expressivity may influence adaptive skills. Thus, parental expressivity may shape children's physiological regulation. And physiological regulation may be 1 mechanism by which effortful control becomes manifested as behavioral regulation that becomes apparent to others who then make evaluations about individuals' adaptive skills. Practice or Policy: The results have implications for interventions aimed at parent training or parental coaching of emotion as well as interventions aimed at enhancing children's social-emotional or behavioral regulation to improve children's adaptive skills.     

The Effect of Functional Flow Diagrams on Apprentice Aircraft Mechanics' Technical System Understanding

Cognitive theory suggests that a key to expert performance lies in the internal organization of the expert's knowledge. The authors contend that the type of technical illustration used during instruction influences knowledge organization and greatly impacts students' understanding of the content. This paper describes an experimental study that tested the impact of one type of conceptual illustration on students' understanding of the structure, function, and behavior of complex technical systems. The results show that supplementing traditional technical instruction with functional flow diagrams can improve overall system understanding. The functional flow diagrams were also found to be an effective instructional aid for enhancing students' conceptual understanding of the causal behavior of systems. In addition, the use of the functional flow diagram was found to significantly improve the subjects' ability to construct conceptual models that were similar to those of an expert. The implications of using conceptual diagrams for technical instruction are discussed and recommendations for future research in this area are provided.     

Computer systems: Moral entities but not moral agents

After discussing the distinction between artifacts and natural entities, and the distinction between artifacts and technology, the conditions of the traditional account of moral agency are identified. While computer system behavior meets four of the five conditions, it does not and cannot meet a key condition. Computer systems do not have mental states, and even if they could be construed as having mental states, they do not have intendings to act, which arise from an agent’s freedom. On the other hand, computer systems have intentionality, and because of this, they should not be dismissed from the realm of morality in the same way that natural objects are dismissed. Natural objects behave from necessity; computer systems and other artifacts behave from necessity after they are created and deployed, but, unlike natural objects, they are intentionally created and deployed. Failure to recognize the intentionality of computer systems and their connection to human intentionality and action hides the moral character of computer systems. Computer systems are components in human moral action. When humans act with artifacts, their actions are constituted by the intentionality and efficacy of the artifact which, in turn, has been constituted by the intentionality and efficacy of the artifact designer. All three components – artifact designer, artifact, and artifact user – are at work when there is an action and all three should be the focus of moral evaluation.     

Awareness, use and opinions of methodological search filters used for the retrieval of evidence-based medical literature-a questionnaire survey

The aim of this study was to determine the level of awareness of methodological search filters among health and academic librarians in the UK and Ireland, their use of filters and views on the perceived benefits, limitations and ways to increase usage of search filters. A random proportional sample of health and academic librarians were surveyed by telephone and fax. Overall, 88% (196/224) completed the telephone survey to establish awareness and use of filters. Eighty-four per cent (51/61) completed a fax survey focusing in more depth on usability issues surrounding filters. Results indicate a high level of awareness of methodological filters, but low level of usage. Furthermore, a high level of awareness did not necessarily correlate with a high level of knowledge or understanding. Examination of responses revealed limitations and recommendations beyond those reported in the literature and highlights the relationship between understanding and effective use of filters. Improved dissemination and publication of filters is required to better inform librarians on the concept of filters and how to use them effectively.     

The Region 4 collaborative virtual reference project

In May 2002, the Denison Memorial Library at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and the J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library at the University of Missouri-Columbia, with funding from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine-Midcontinental Region, embarked on a collaborative, real-time reference project using the 24/7 Reference, Inc., software package. This paper describes how the project was conceived, and includes details on the service hours, staffing, training, marketing, lessons learned, and future plans for the service.     

Vulnerability to Bullying: Teacher-reported conduct and emotional problems,hyperactivity, peer relationship difficulties,and prosocial behaviour in primary school children

Twenty five class teachers completed a "Strengths and Difficulties" assessment for 523 children aged from 7 to 11 years of age. Children self-completed a 39-item "My Life in School" questionnaire. One third of the sample were self-reported victims of bullying behaviour. Boys with poor prosocial skills, emotional problems and general difficulties with social interaction, expression of emotion and hyperactivity were at greatest risk of being bullied. There was no significant effect of age. The data support previous research findings that gender influences the prevalence of bullying but not that younger children are more vulnerable. This study provides new evidence that teachers recognise social behaviour and interactions that can significantly affect whether primary school children are bullied.     

Gender on the box: Self-reflexivity as a starting point

This self-reflexive activity acts as an introduction to how we talk about and express gender identity, as well as the assumptions we may have about gender identity norms and expression. The activity illuminates student’s subconscious behaviors and understandings of gender, pushing them to sit self-reflexively with their own understandings of gender as an identity, expression, binary, and potential locus of shame/freedom.

Courses: Introduction to Women and Gender Studies, Intercultural Communication, Media Studies, Gender and Communication, Performance Studies

Objectives: Designed to introduce students to their own understandings and embodiment of gender, this activity asks students to be honest about their preconceived notions regarding gender that they bring with them into the classroom. The activity utilizes predesigned components that test students’ subconscious knowledge of the gender binary. This is a one-time activity that can be conducted in one 50- or 75-minute class period.