Differential Associations of Distinct Forms of Childhood Adversity With Neurobehavioral Measures of Reward Processing: A Developmental Pathway to Depression

Childhood adversity is associated with altered reward processing, but little is known about whether this varies across distinct types of adversity. In a sample of 94 children (6–19 years), we investigated whether experiences of material deprivation, emotional deprivation, and trauma have differential associations with reward-related behavior and white matter microstructure in tracts involved in reward processing. Material deprivation (food insecurity), but not emotional deprivation or trauma, was associated with poor reward performance. Adversity-related influences on the integrity of white matter microstructure in frontostriatal tracts varied across childhood adversity types, and reductions in frontostriatal white matter integrity mediated the association of food insecurity with depressive symptoms. These findings document distinct behavioral and neurodevelopmental consequences of specific forms of adversity that have implications for psychopathology risk.     

The effects of individual and group contingencies on reading performance of special education students

The effects of individual and group contingencies on the reading performance of 10 special education students were examined in a counterbalanced multiple-baseline design with experimental manipulations introduced at random. During the Baseline condition no consequences for accuracy in programmed reading were in effect. With the Group Contingency, pupils earned points based on accuracy and exchanged them for activity backup reinforcers based on the average performance of the group. During the Individual Contingency arrangement, the same point totals were awarded by yoking pupils to the group behavioral criteria. The results indicated superior accuracy (from 2 to 25%) with the Group Contingency by all 10 pupils. Student preferences as to the two contingency arrangements indicated a slight preference for the Group Contingency phase. A lack of negative peer comments was noted over the duration of the experiment. Results were also discussed in terms of ease of implementation of the group contingencies within an ongoing token economy in a classroom setting. Tentative reasons for the differing results of the present study and others were presented.     

Eozoön: debunking the dawn animal

Discovered in the nineteenth century by the Canadian Geological Survey, the Eozo?n canadense fossil, or 'dawn animal of Canada', created a sensation in the geological community. Only a few initially challenged its status as a fossil organism, including two professors in the remote Irish town of Galway. These men claimed that Eozo?n was nothing more than a mineral formation and did not represent the discovery of the primordial organism. Supporters of Eozo?n closed ranks and a heated debate soon broke out in a range of periodicals. The story of Eozo?n lays bare the construction of scientific credibility, a process that was threatened in the second half of the nineteenth century by the proliferation of popular science.     

‘It is the research of self experience’: feeling the value in action research

This article tells the story of an attempt to bring about major educational reform of the curriculum and educational values in Kazakhstan, using action research as part of that process. The article begins with a brief and selective review of the literature on aspects of emotion and moves to an account of the context and history of the reforms, before focusing on the ‘self experience’ of the participants and the authors. Emotion, its centrality and the interrelationship of three areas – the nature of teaching and teacher learning, the process of change and the experience of research – are explored in relation to reform and action research. The paper concludes with a reflection on the implications for the use of action research as a strategy for reform.     

It ain't just what you do and the way that you do it: why discourse matters in higher education communities of practice

A number of Australian universities have established and sponsored interdisciplinary communities of practice (CoPs) to develop teaching and learning. CoPs are popularly defined as groups of people who share a passion for something and, together, learn how to do it better. Without further specification, this definition is of limited use in understanding intentionally established CoPs in higher education settings. The term CoP is used and applied in a range of ways in higher education and has been accompanied by some scholarly debate about the meaning and relevance of CoPs to academe. The prevalent response to such debate has been to propose typologies. While typology can be useful, epistemology and discourse are also significant in understanding and developing higher education CoPs. In this paper I focus on discourse surrounding CoPs as a conceptual and developmental factor which has been insufficiently considered in the literature on higher education CoPs. I draw on findings from interviews with 33 CoP members and facilitators in three Australian universities. My findings indicate that discourse surrounding CoPs is significant in shaping notions of participatory value. Connecting with the literature, my findings also reveal a ‘big D’ Discourse of collegiality whereby CoPs offer social support and knowledge sharing to build capacity, as well as spaces in which a collegial academic identity can thrive. This coincides in complex and unpredictable ways with a Discourse of managerialism. I conclude that discourse should supplement typology and epistemology in adaptively shaping understandings of contemporary higher education CoPs and their future development.     

Investigating trait emotional intelligence among school leaders: demonstrating a useful self-assessment approach

An exploratory study of two grammar schools in the South East of England is used to justify and demonstrate a self-assessed approach that investigates trait emotional intelligence (EI) among school leaders. First, the theoretical underpinnings of ability and trait EI approaches are critically compared based on recent relevant literature. Then the results from TEIQue-SF, a self-evaluation questionnaire, are presented and discussed. Finally, notwithstanding limitations of the study and the approach taken, we suggest that with further empirical research, a refined and usable self-assessed approach could be a useful way for practitioners to evaluate trait EI among school leaders in the future.