Parental relationship and adolescents’ conceptions of their interaction with significant others

Three problems were investigated with a sample of 329 Estonian and 504 Finnish adolescents (aged 14 to 18 years) and their parents. In Estonia, the responses of parents were received from 85% of the families, and in Finland from 55%. The main findings for each problem were as follows: (1) The adolescent’s, especially girl’s, conceptions of the atmosphere of the parent-child interaction and satisfaction with significant others were more strongly related to the adolescent’s perceptions of a harmonious relationship between the parents than to the parent’s satisfaction with the relationship with the spouse. (2) From the point of view of the adolescent’s conception of the atmosphere of the parent-child interaction, joint activities with the parents, and satisfaction with significant others, a harmonious relationship between the parents was most favorable. Lack of the father might be less detrimental to the adolescent’s, especially girl’s, conceptions of these matters than a less harmonious relationship between the parents in intact families. (3) The findings were replicated in two countries which differed in many respects at the time of data collection in 1985–1986.     

Remedial Testing and Placement in Community Colleges

Almost half of students who enter college require some sort of remedial coursework. Further, states are increasingly moving the responsibility of postsecondary remediation away from four-year campuses to two-year institutions. Scholars and policymakers have grappled with best practice for successfully filling in academic gaps and moving students forward, and there is variation both within and between states as to the ways in which remediation is defined, determined, and administered (Perin, 2006 Perin , D. ( 2006 ). Can community colleges protect both access and standards? The problem of remediation . Teachers College Record 108 ( 3 ), 339 – 373 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Using a regression discontinuity design, this study seeks to answer the following question on one community college campus: How does placement into remedial services affect student outcomes, in particular, successful completion of an introductory college-level English course? Although this study focuses on a single community college system, the findings have bearing on a wider sector as the developmental placement practices of Harper Community College District are not unlike those implemented by two- and four-year campuses across the country.     

Tibial shock measured during the fencing lunge: the influence of footwear

Fencing is a high-intensity sport involving dynamic movements such as the lunge exposing the musculoskeletal system to high impact forces, which emphasises the importance of the shock attenuating properties of footwear as a factor in the prevention of injury. The aim of this study was to investigate the magnitudes of the transient axial impact shock experienced at the tibia between traditional fencing shoes and standard athletic footwear during the impact phase of the fencing lunge. Peak tibial shock was measured in 19 male fencers in 4 different footwear conditions using an accelerometer placed on the distal aspect of the tibia. The standard footwear (11.08 g and 8.75 g for squash and running shoe, respectively) resulted in significant (p < 0.01) reductions in peak impact shock in comparison to the traditional fencing shoes (15.93 g and 13.97 g for the Adidas and Hi-Tec shoe, respectively). No significant differences were found between the running and squash shoes (p = 0.09) or between the fencing shoes (p = 0.48). The documented reduction in impact shock found suggests that running or squash specific footwear may reduce overuse injury occurrence, indicating that there is justification for a re-design of fencing shoes.     

Little Evidence That Socioeconomic Status Modifies Heritability of Literacy and Numeracy in Australia

Socioeconomic status (SES) has been found to moderate the influence of genes and the environment on cognitive ability, such that genetic influence is greater when SES is higher, and the shared environment is greater when SES is lower, but not in all Western countries. The effects of both family and school SES on the heritability of literacy and numeracy in Australian twins aged 8, 10, 12, and 14 years with 1,307, 1,235, 1,076, and 930 pairs at each age, respectively, were tested. Shared environmental influences on Grade 3 literacy were greater with low family SES, and no other moderating effects of SES were significant. These findings are contrasted with results from the United States and the United Kingdom.     

Broadening participation not border protection: how universities can support women in computer science

Computer science, like technology in general, is seen as a masculine field and the under-representation of women an intransigent problem. In this paper, we argue that the cultural belief in Australia that computer science is a domain for men results in many girls and women being chased away from that field as part of a border protection campaign by some males – secondary school teachers, boys and men playing games online and young men on campus at university. We draw on American feminist philosopher, Iris Marion Young’s analysis of the ‘five faces’ of oppression to suggest strategies whereby Australian universities could support women in computer science and educate men about respectful behaviour and gender equity.     

A Preliminary Examination of Burnout Among Counselor Trainees Treating Clients With Recent Suicidal Ideation and Borderline Traits

Treating suicidal clients with borderline traits can be conducive to burnout. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) may assuage this burnout in counselors. As part of a DBT treatment outcome study, 6 counselors in training collected their own salivary cortisol samples and completed self‐report measures of burnout and well‐being for 1 year. Findings indicate a significant interaction for cortisol levels by treatment condition, such that DBT counselors experienced less physiological stress over time relative to a control group of counselors. There were no group differences in self‐reported burnout or well‐being. DBT may have a salutary effect on trainees' physiological stress levels over time.     

Children's help seeking and impulsivity

The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between students' (100 children aged 8 to 12) help-seeking behavior and impulsivity. Help-seeking behavior was evaluated using a naturalistic experimental paradigm in which children were placed in a problem-solving situation and had the opportunity to seek help from the experimenter, if needed. Impulsivity was analyzed using the Hyperactivity–Impulsivity Scale from the Teacher Rating Form of the Multidimensional Peer Nomination Inventory (TR-MPNI), Circle Tracing Task (CTT), Matching Familiar Figures (MFF), and Impulsiveness and Venturesomeness scales from the Eysenck Junior I₆ questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (SEM) showed that impulsivity was not related to children's question asking. Different correlational patterns were found for question asking and other help-seeking variables (i.e., performance scores and mean reflection time preceding question asking). The two Eysenck Junior I₆ scales showed no significant correlations with other measures. The importance of considering the many sidedness of both help-seeking and impulsivity constructs is discussed.     

Audience Studies

NATURAL AUDIENCES: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH OF MEDIA USES AND EFFECTS edited by Thomas R. Lindlof (Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1987—$37.50)

COMMUNICATION, GENDER, AND SEX ROLES IN DIVERSE INTERACTION CONTEXTS edited by Lea P. Stewart and Stella Ting-Toomey (Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1987—$35.00)

QUESTIONNAIRES: DESIGN AND USE by Doug R. Berdie, et al. (Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1986—$22.50)

CHILDREN AS CONSUMERS: INSIGHTS AND IMPLICATIONS by James U. McNeal (Lexington, MA: Lexington/Heath, 1987—$24.95)