Is tobacco use a problem among deaf college students?

College students' tobacco use poses a significant public health problem. Effective intervention requires understanding of this behavior among race/ethnic, cultural, and linguistic collegiate subgroups, including deaf and hard of hearing collegians. Findings from a first-ever tobacco-related survey among this understudied population are reported. The authors used written questionnaires and the Interactive Video Questionnaire, a multimedia computer technology developed for use with the deaf and hard of hearing, to interview 241 volunteers on seven California college campuses. They found lower self-reported current smoking prevalence (14.5%) relative to collegians in the general population, but considerable ever smoking (65.1%) and multiple types of tobacco use (37.3%). The authors report on factors associated with tobacco use and on students' exposure to cigarette marketing, gaps experienced in receipt of antitobacco messages and services, and students' antitobacco intervention recommendations. Limitations of the research are described, including possible underreporting of participants' tobacco use.     

Preschool Math Exposure in Private Center-Based Care and Low-SES Children’s Math Development

Research Findings: The present study examined the amount of exposure to math activities that children of low socioeconomic status (SES) encounter in private community-based preschool classrooms and whether greater time in these activities predicted higher math skills. Three cohorts of 4- to 5-year-old children were recruited from 30 private centers, resulting in a sample of 288 children nested within 73 preschool classrooms. Classroom observations were conducted for 150 min during fall and winter of the preschool year using a time sampling method. Preschoolers were exposed to an average daily amount of 2 min (range = 0–23) of math exposure. Hierarchical linear models were run to examine associations between math exposure and math achievement. Children’s exposure to math activities significantly and positively predicted their spring math scores, but associations between math exposure and math scores were stronger for children with lower initial cognitive abilities and self-regulation skills. Practice or Policy: Our findings revealed generally low levels of math instruction occurring in private child care centers primarily serving low-SES children. Even limited exposure to math activities predicted children’s math skills, however, which highlights the importance of math content in these settings.     

Models of interuniversity collaboration in higher education — How do their features act as barriers and enablers to sustainability?

Tertiary Education and Management - This study combines conceptual and empirical review of the literature around interuniversity collaborations to identify known models and applications, and...     

Integration models for indigenous public health curricula

All graduates of Master of Public Health (MPH) programmes in Australia are expected to achieve a core set of Indigenous public health competencies designed to train ‘judgement safe practitioners’. A curriculum framework document was developed alongside the competencies to assist programme providers to integrate appropriate Indigenous content, but it does not describe the intended integration model. A review of MPH programmes was undertaken to determine the extent of integration, identify examples of best practice and explore how integration can be improved. Data from the consolidated review findings were analysed using a staged approach. Several models of curricula integration were identified, building on known models, and definitions developed that differentiate features according to the extent of integration achieved. The model recommended in the literature as best practice, known to promote deep learning, was found in only one of the reviewed programmes. This combination model supports development of reflexive practitioners who can operate across different disciplines and ways of knowing. Enablers and barriers were explored to explain why some integration models were more commonly found. Implications for curriculum reform are outlined with strategies to assist implementation of a combined integration model, a necessary learning approach to enhance student cultural competence.     

Curriculum development for quantitative skills in degree programs: a cross-institutional study situated in the life sciences

Higher education policies are increasingly focused on graduate learning outcomes, which infer an emphasis on, and deep understanding of, curriculum development across degree programs. As disciplinary influences are known to shape teaching and learning activities, research situated in disciplinary contexts is useful to further an understanding of curriculum development. In the life sciences, several graduate learning outcomes are underpinned by quantitative skills or an ability to apply mathematical and statistical thinking and reasoning. Drawing on data from a national teaching project in Australia that explored quantitative skills in the implemented curricula of 13 life sciences degree programs, this article presents four program-level curricular models that emerged from the analysis. The findings are interpreted through the lens of discipline-specific research and general curriculum design theories to further our understanding of curriculum development for graduate learning outcomes. Implications for future research and to guide curriculum development practices in higher education are discussed.     

Books on Research Methods and Bibliography

Dennis P. Forece and Stephen Richer's Stages of Social Research: Contemporary Perspectives (Prentice-Hall, $8.95)

Denis Grogan's Science and Technology: An Introduction to the Literature (Archen Books/Shoestring Press, $17.00)

John Brown Mason, Research Resources: Annotated Guide to the Social Sciences (American Bibliographical Center/Clio Press, Riviera Campus, 2010 Alameda Padre Sierra, Santa Barbara, California 93103, $3.00 each for two volumes)     

Relational power,marital schema,and decisions to withhold complaints: An investigation of the chilling effect on confrontation in marriage

Previous research on dating relationships suggests that perceptions of a partner's power exert a chilling effect on the expression of relational grievances. This paper extends the chilling effect perspective by examining two issues: (a) whether a partner's power corresponds with decisions to withhold complaints within marriage, and (b) whether the manifestation of the chilling effect varies as a Junction of individual differences in marital schema. Married individuals (N = 215) completed questionnaire measures of a partner's power, marital schema, and decisions to withhold complaints from spouses. Findings underscore the importance of both power and marital schema within spouses’ decisions to express complaints.