Promoting minority success in the sciences: The minority opportunities in research programs at CSULA

Given the large continued investment by the federal government in programs that promote academic success and the pursuit of advanced degrees in the sciences among members groups traditionally underrepresented in the sciences, there is a strong need for research which provides rigorous investigations of these programs and their impact on the target population. The current study examines programs funded by the National Institutes of Health Minority Opportunities in Research (MORE) Division Office intended to address this underrepresentation at a minority serving comprehensive university. Academic outcomes, including college graduation and acceptance into graduate programs, among undergraduate program participants are compared against a propensity score matched comparison group. Results indicate that students supported by the MORE programs had higher GPAs at graduation, took less time to graduate, and were more likely to both graduate with a science degree and enter Master's and doctoral programs in the sciences. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 199–217, 2012     

Parent–youth discordance about youth-witnessed violence: Associations with trauma symptoms and service use in an at-risk sample

ObjectiveStudies have consistently demonstrated a lack of agreement between youth and parent reports regarding youth-witnessed violence. However, little is known about whether disagreement is associated with poorer outcomes and less utilization of mental health services. The purpose of the current study was to examine disagreement among youth and parents about youth witnessed violence, and determine whether concordance predicted trauma symptoms and recognition of need and receipt of counseling services.MethodsConcordance about youth-witnessed violence was examined in 766 dyads from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN). Youth participants self-reported trauma symptoms, caregivers indicated youth need for and receipt of services. Both youth and parents provided information about youth-witnessed violence exposure in the last year.ResultsResults showed youth and caregivers differed significantly about youth-witnessed violence. Specifically, 42% of youth reported youth-witnessed violence, compared to only 15% of parents. For those parents who reported youth-witnessed violence, only 29% reported an identified need for services and only 17% reported the youth had received any mental health services. Concordance between parent–youth dyads was associated with greater identified need for services but was not associated with the use of counseling services or trauma symptoms.ConclusionsYouth who reported witnessing violence reported more frequent trauma symptoms regardless of concordance. Parents from dyads in which both informants reported youth-witnessed violence were more likely to endorse need for, but not receipt of counseling services. Given this association between youth-witnessed violence and mental health problems, more work is needed to identify barriers to concordance as well as service utilization.     

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.     

The Dialectical Relationship Between Place and Space in Education: How the Internet Is Changing Our Perceptions of Teaching and Learning

In this essay Michael Glassman and Jonathan Burbidge explore the idea of a dialectical relationship between the traditional place(s) of teaching/learning settings and the challenges to our perceptions created by the new spaces of the Internet. The authors examine this topic in the context of a three‐stage evolution of humans' relationship with new technologies: (1) fear of how new technologies will change our everyday actions, (2) recognition of emerging technologies as tools capable of offering new possibilities in our activities, and (3) integration of new technologies into productive everyday activities. The Internet is moving quickly through all three stages, but this process takes different forms with disparate populations. What makes recognition of the fast‐moving integration of Internet technology important in the field of education is that students and educators are often at different points in this process. It is critical that we are aware of the role technology is playing in the classroom, in particular the dynamic dialectical relationship between space and place.     

The Third Place: The Library as Collaborative and Community Space in a Time of Fiscal Restraint

In a period of fiscal constraint, when assumptions about the library as place are being challenged, administrators question the contribution of every expense to student success. Libraries have been successful in migrating resources and services to a digital environment accessible beyond the library. What is the role of the library as place when users do not need to visit the building to utilize library services and resources? We argue that the college library building's core role is as a space for collaborative learning and community interaction that cannot be jettisoned in the new normal.     

Books of the Month

THE INTERNATIONAL NEWS SERVICES by Jonathan Fenby (New York: Schocken Books, 1986—$19.95)

MARKETPLACE FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS: REGULATION AND DEREGULATION IN INDUSTRIALIZED DEMOCRACIES edited by Marcellus S. Snow (New York: Longman, 1986—$34.95)     

FOREIGN OFFICE CONTROL OF REUTERS DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR

I disagree with Professor Putnis' claim that the Foreign Office instigated a leveraged buyout of Reuters in 1915. Putnis' thesis is questionable for several reasons. (1) It is at odds with a general unwillingness on the part of government to interfere in the affairs of private business. (2) The fear of a hostile foreign takeover was neutralized and there was no compelling reason to buy out Reuters. (3) It is improbable that the Foreign Office would have devised a plan to take over Reuters before other aspects of wartime mobilization, such as armaments, were decided. Instead, I argue that Reuters initiated an agreement with the Foreign Office to fulfil its strategic aims. Once this is appreciated, the long-term and significant effects of the buyout become apparent.     

Television Teaching: Parody,The Simpsons,and Media Literacy Education

This paper examines televisual parody as a media literacy educator, and the potential of parody to channel the powers of comedy and entertainment in order to “teach” the techniques and rhetoric of televisual texts and genres. It focuses on the case of the hugely successful and popular animated parodic sitcom, The Simpsons, and its playful attack on advertising and promotional culture. Currently in its 16th season, The Simpsons broadcasts to approximately 60 million viewers in 70 countries weekly, offering a playful critique of television from within the television frame.