Identity Challenges in Field Research: Three Stories

We tell of our struggles in completing ethnographic field research by showing the hurdles and difficult interactions we faced on our different projects. We interpret the obstacles as threats to our identities and show how we responded to them. Our conclusion shows how we preserved the independence of our interpretations while completing the data collection and interpretation.     

Moral Education at Religious Research Universities: Exploring Faculty Attitudes

This article presents the results and an analysis of 1,728 survey responses from faculty at four top tier religious research universities regarding their support for moral and civic education. The results demonstrate that a majority of faculty members at these schools supported both the general goals of moral and civic education and specific suggestions for integrating moral and civic education into the curriculum. Nonetheless, three major concerns emerged about its actual implementation into the curriculum.     

A psychological pattern of anxiety in public speaking

In previous research, a physiological pattern of speech anxiety has been established for the periods before, during, and after delivering a public speech. However, no corresponding psychological pattern has been reported. Although strong correlations between psychological and physiological measures have not been found, it seemed reasonable to expect public speakers to exhibit a psychological pattern of speech anxiety similar to the physiological pattern. The results of this study support that hypothesis. The observed pattern is a monotonic function decreasing from the beginning of the speech through the post speech period.     

Maintaining a Social‐Emotional Intervention and Its Benefits for Institutionalized Children

This article reports the maintenance of one of the largest interventions conducted in St. Petersburg (Russian Federation) orphanages for children birth to 4 years using regular caregiving staff. One orphanage received training plus structural changes, another training only, and a third business as usual. The intervention produced substantial differences between these institutions on the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory and on the Battelle Developmental Inventory scores for children. These institutional differences in HOME scores (N = 298) and Battelle scores for children (N = 357) departing the institutions for families in St. Petersburg and the United States were maintained for at least 6 years after the intervention project. This result may be associated with certain features of the intervention and activities conducted during the follow‐up interval.     

SHORT‐TERM PROGRAMS ON DEATH AND DYING AND AGING: A REVIEW OF SELECTED LITERATURE

Agencies and institutions dealing with the elderly have only limited time, money, and personnel with which to plan and implement educational programs. Yet a basic knowledge of aging and death and dying seems to be essential for those working with older adults. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on short‐term educational programs on death and dying and aging in order to offer practitioners some guidance for efficiently structuring programs to bring about desired changes in these areas. From 15 selected studies, 3 aspects of such programs are reviewed and analyzed: the length of the intervention, the type of treatment, and the nature of the target group involved.     

The Relationship Between Universities and Black Urban Communities: The Clash of Two Cultures

This article is a theoretical discussion of the cultural dynamics that shape the relationship between universities and black urban communities. It is argued that universities have a responsibility to address inner-city problems. However, the social relationships between academic institutions and urban communities are impeded as a result of cultural differences. Cultural, social, and power theories are employed to construct a framework for exploring the factors that impede positive interactions between universities and black urban communities. The article concludes by linking the renewed American discourse on civility to the public service mission of higher education and its relevance to urban communities.     

Elementary school teachers' beliefs about and perceptions of elementary school science,science reading,science textbooks,and supportive instructional factors

This article is a report of elementary school teachers' beliefs about and uses of text material in science. Survey results from 522 K-8 teachers from 299 schools in the United States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands were analyzed along three dimensions: teacher attitudes toward teaching of reading in science; teacher beliefs and understanding about models of reading, factors influencing science reading and reading skills; and teacher use of various teaching strategies. Results suggest that teachers do not see reading science as different from any other narrative material. And though most agreed to the importance of having students do activities to support and enhance the use of text material, responses suggest that covering topics is still a concern for most elementary teachers.     

The role of reinforcement and nonreinforcement in an operant frustration effect

Male albino rats were run in a discrete-trial two-bar operant analog of the double alley. Completion of a FR 4 response chain on the first bar was rewarded 50% of the time for the 12 experimental Ss, but was never rewarded for the 12 control Ss. Both groups received consistent reward at the end of a FR 4 chain on the second bar. Eighty-four trials were given at a rate of four trials per day. A significantly faster rate of responding on the second bar was found following nonrewarded first-bar ratios than following rewarded first-bar ratios. This frustration effect was not attributable to response depression, since the nonrewarded performance of the experimental group exceeded that of the control group.