Dialogic identities: the experiences of women who are headteachers and mothers in English primary schools

Twenty women who are mothers and primary school headteachers were interviewed regarding their understanding of the self and how this interacts with the role of parent and professional. The data are read as an illustration of dialogic identities where the self is in constant negotiation regarding how to position as mother and as headteacher, and how they are being positioned by organisational and social structures. Training and preparation for headship does not engage with the person as subject outside the organisation, and this paper provides an opportunity to examine how professional and personal positioning are interrelated, dynamic and vital to how practitioners do and value their work.     

Telecommunications and Cable

Ken Marsh's Independent Video (San Francisco: Straight Arrow Books, 1974—$7.95, paper)

Richard H. Davis and Allen E. Edwards' Television: A Therapeutic Tool for the Aged (Publication and Media Projects, Andrus Gerontology Center, University Park, Los Angeles, Calif. 90007—$2.25, paper)

Irving W. Larson (ed.) EIA Electronics Multimedia Handbook (Indianapolis: Howard W. Sams, 1975—price not known, paper)

Kendall Webster Sessions' 2nd Class FCC Encyclopedia (Blue Ridge Summit, Pa.: TAB Books, 1975—$10.95/7.95)

Mary Louise Hollowell (ed.) Cable Handbook: 1975-1976—A Guide to Cable and New Communications Technologies (Communications Press, 1346 Connecticutt Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036—$7.35, including postage, paper)

Gilbert Gillespie's Public Access Cable Television in the United States and Canada (New York: Praeger Special Studies, 1975—price not given, but likely around $12.00 or so)     

Behavioral and adjustment correlates of problem solving: validational analyses of interpersonal cognitive problem-solving measures

The interpersonal cognitive problem-solving (ICPS) skills (i.e., means-ends thinking, identified obstacles, alternative solutions, consequential thinking) of 150 families (father, mother, and child 6-11 years old) were assessed via written tests and problem-solving behavioral performance. The interrelationships of ICPS written and behavioral problem-solving skills were examined, as were the relationships of each of these measures of problem solving to both parent and teacher indices of child adjustment. IQ, as measured by the age-appropriate Wechsler scale, was partialed out. Results indicated some ecological validity of written alternatives and consequential tests for children and means-ends tests for parents. Neither parents' nor children's written ICPS scores nor problem-solving behavior were systematically related to either teacher or parent ratings of child adjustment. However, a behavioral index of parental facilitation of child problem solving was significantly related to all problem-solving behaviors and some written ICPS measures. Results are discussed in terms of the role of ICPS skills in child adjustment, the potential limits of ICPS measures in therapy outcome, and the manner in which children learn interpersonal cognitive problem solving.     

Variations of two temporal parameters in observing response procedures

Temporal parameters were varied in two different observing response procedures. In Experiment I, concurrent variable-interval chain schedules were employed. Responding on one key led to either a stimulus correlated with reinforcement or a stimulus correlated with time-out. Responding on the other key led to a stimulus which ended either in reinforcement or time-out. The duration of the delay to reinforcement or time-out was varied, the delays for all three stimuli always remaining equal in a given phase. It was found that the longer the delay, the greater the preference for the observing response. In Experiment II a procedure was employed in which birds pecked during a “trial” to produce stimuli correlated with reinforcement or time-out at the end of the trial. The duration of the trial ending in time out was varied while the positive trial duration remained constant. It was found that the longer the duration of the negative trial, the greater the strength of observing responses. The results were interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that the value of a positive stimulus is a function of time spent in stimuli correlated with nonreinforcement.