Private Speech Moderates the Effects of Effortful Control on Emotionality

Research Findings: In addition to being a regulatory strategy, children’s private speech may enhance or interfere with their effortful control used to regulate emotion. The goal of the current study was to investigate whether children’s private speech during a selective attention task moderated the relations of their effortful control to their anger and sadness. The private speech of 156 preschoolers (age in months: M = 52.10, SD = 9.24, min = 36.20, max = 69.50) was transcribed and coded during a selective attention task. Effortful control was observed and reported by parents. Anger and sadness were reported by parents and observed in a frustration task. Children who used more inaudible muttering had higher levels of sadness. Effortful control interacted with private speech to explain anger. The negative relation of effortful control to anger was significant for children who used low and moderate but not high levels of task-irrelevant private speech. Practice or Policy: The presence of private speech, although it may support regulatory abilities within a task, may be an additional form of evaluation that might help teachers and caregivers decide how best to support children’s learning. These findings suggest that private speech can be used as an indicator of how well children use other regulatory abilities, such as effortful control.     

E-Master of Marketing: Phase 2 in Transnational Marketing Education

A previous article in Higher Education in Europe (Vol. 24, No. 2, 1999), by three of the authors of the present article, outlined the beginnings of an on-line course, "Marketing Theory and Practice" (MTP), offered by the Department of Marketing of Monash University in Australia. It noted the opportunities such a development presented in terms of collaboration. Following the successful introduction of MTP on-line (http://www.buseco.monash.edu.au/Subjects/MKT/ MTPonline/) into the undergraduate programme, the project team applied for a significant funding grant to implement a department-wide strategy for the electronic delivery of marketing education. This implementation includes the development of an E-Master's degree in Marketing, details of which are discussed in this article.     

Project THREAD: Technology helping restructure educational access and delivery

This article describes Project THREAD (Technology Helping Restructure Educational Access and Delivery), an initiative funded by the U.S. Office of Education through its PT3 grant program. The project’s overarching goal is to prepare teachers to integrate modern technologies to fundamentally enhance teaching and learning in K-12 schools. Project initiatives include: (a) a series of in-service workshops for university faculty, administrators, field supervisors, and mentor teachers; (b) one-on-one follow-up support provided by project staff; (c) a minigrant program to support the development of technology-based learning activities for university courses; (d) expanded opportunities for students to apply technology in thier courses and field experiences; and (e) a redesign of selected courses that impact a large number of teacher candidates. The project’s evaluation is described, along with a discussion of outcomes and lessons learned. in recognition of the project’s scope and accomplishments thus far, the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), was named the 2002 winner of the Best Practice Award for the Innovative Use of Technology by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE).     

Investigation of functional literacy and job-skills used in clerical workplace settings

This paper presents the findings of a study on the functional literacy and job-skills used by clerical workers in a variety of work situations. The study focused on the employees' own perceptions of their tasks. The results revealed three main requirements for successful performance of clerical work: (1) the possession of requisite knowledge and the ability to apply it; (2) thinking skills; (3) the ability to manage oneself and others. None of these capacities was sufficient on its own. The authors argue that the study has important implications for vocational education and training and for easing the transition from school to work.

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Zusammenfassung Dieser Artikel präsentiert die Ergebnisse einer Studie über funktionale Alphabetisierung und Berufskenntnisse, die Büroangestellte in unterschiedlichen Arbeitssituationen benötigen. Die Studie konzentriert sich auf die eigenen Wahrnehmungen der Angestellten ihrer Aufgaben. Drei Hauptanforderungen für eine erfolgreiche Bewältigung der Büroarbeit wurden identifiziert: 1. fundiertes Wissen und die Fähigkeit zur Anwendung, 2. die Fähigkeit, mitzudenken, 3. die Fähigkeit, sich selbst und andere zu organisieren. Keine dieser Kapazitäten ist ohne die anderen ausreichend. Der Autorinnen argumentieren, daß diese Studie sich wesentlich auf Berufsbildung und Fortbildung auswirken und den Übergang von der Schule zum Arbeitsplatz erleichtern kann.

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Resumen El trabajo presenta los resultados de un estudio realizado sobre la capacidad funcional de leer y escribir y sobre las habilidades laborales aplicadas por empleados en una variedad de situaciones de trabajo. El estudio se concentraba en las propias percepciones de los empleados en cuanto a sus cometidos. Los resultados revelaron tres principales requisitos para el desempeño exitoso del trabajo de oficina: (1) la posesión de los conocimientos requeridos y la capacidad de aplicarlos; (2) habilidades intelectuales; (3) la capacidad de gestionarse a sí mismo y a los demás. Ninguna de estas capacidades era suficiente por sí misma. El autor sostiene que el estudio tiene consecuencias importantes para la educación y la formación vocacional y para facilitar la transición del colegio al trabajo.

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Résumé Cet article présente les résultats d'une étude sur l'alphabétisation fonctionnelle et les compétences professionnelles des employés de bureau dans diverses situations de travail. L'étude met l'accent sur la perception qu'ont les employés de leurs tâches. Les résultats révèlent trois conditions principales pour la réussite dans le travail de bureau: (1) la maîtrise des connaissances requises; (2) l'aptitude à la réflexion; (3) des capacités d'autonomie et relationnelles. Aucune de ces conditions ne se suffit à elle-même. Les auteurs soutiennent que l'étude a des répercussions importantes sur réduction et la formation professionnelles, pouvant faciliter la transition entre l'école et le monde du travail.

     

Child abuse treated in a psychiatric day hospital

Actuarial, medical and social data are reported on 50 psychiatric day hospital patients known to have abused their children and 50 non-abusers undergoing treatment at the same time. A sub-group of 30 of each completed personality and intelligence tests and the majority had electroencephalograms, and these results were compared with those of a group of 30 healthy mothers selected by health visitors for positive child-rearing abilities.Findings which confirms those of other studies of child abuse include youthfulness, a higher incidence of family violence from childhood onwards, more unplanned pregnancies and lower intelligence in the index group. In this sample, however, all social classes were represented, there was no significant differences in perinatal pathology between the groups, personality scored showed high morbidity in the patient groups but few distinctive features, and EEGs were not significantly more abnormal in the index group than in the two contrast groups. Moreover, the index group did not show the expected discrepancy between verbal and performance sub-tests on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.Treatment of the 50 child-abusers with their children resulted in a re-injury rate of 8% during the four year period of study. A scheme for early identification and prevention is outlined.     

Concurrent and Subsequent Associations Between Daily Digital Technology Use and High‐Risk Adolescents’ Mental Health Symptoms

Adolescents are spending an unprecedented amount of time using digital technologies (especially mobile technologies), and there are concerns that adolescents’ constant connectivity is associated with poor mental health, particularly among at‐risk adolescents. Participants included 151 adolescents at risk for mental health problems (M_age = 13.1) who completed a baseline assessment, 30‐day ecological momentary assessment, and 18 month follow‐up assessment. Results from multilevel regression models showed that daily reports of both time spent using digital technologies and the number of text messages sent were associated with increased same‐day attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder (CD) symptoms. Adolescents’ reported digital technology usage and text messaging across the ecological momentary assessment (EMA) period was also associated with poorer self‐regulation and increases in conduct problem symptoms between the baseline and follow‐up assessments.