Congruence between Mothers' and Fathers' Differential Treatment of Siblings: Links with Family Relations and Children's Well-Being

We studied patterns of mothers' and fathers' differential treatment of firstborn (average age 10.5 years) and secondborn (average age 8 years) school-age siblings, and we examined the links between parents' differential treatment and children's well-being and dyadic family relationships. Mothers, fathers, and both siblings in 110 families were interviewed in their homes. For each dimension of parental behavior that we assessed (i.e., differential affection and discipline) we created groups of families that reflected mothers' and fathers' levels of differential treatment (e.g., discipline the firstborn more, equal treatment, discipline the secondborn more). Although we detected substantial correspondence between the 2 parents' differential treatment, we found a sizable group of families in which parents' reports were incongruent (i.e., 1 parent reported equal and the other differential treatment). Parental patterns were linked to differences between the siblings' well-being and both sibling and parent-child relationships, with younger siblings exhibiting greater vulnerability to differential treatment. Incongruence in differential warmth was associated with marital distress.     

Hierarchical Mentoring: A Transformative Strategy for Improving Diversity and Retention in Undergraduate STEM Disciplines

In the United States, less than half of the students who enter into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate curricula as freshmen will actually graduate with a STEM degree. There is even greater disparity in the national STEM graduation rates of students from underrepresented groups with approximately three-fourths of minority students leaving STEM disciplines at the undergraduate level. A host of programs have been designed and implemented to model best practices in retaining students in STEM disciplines. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Professors Program at Louisiana State University, under leadership of HHMI Professor Isiah M. Warner, represents one of these programs and reports on a mentoring model that addresses the key factors that impact STEM student attrition at the undergraduate level. By integrating mentoring and strategic academic interventions into a structured research program, an innovative model has been developed to guide STEM undergraduate majors in adopting the metacognitive strategies that allow them to excel in their programs of study, as they learn to appreciate and understand science more completely. Comparisons of the persistence of participants and nonparticipants in STEM curricular, at the host university and with other national universities and colleges, show the impact of the model’s salient features on improving STEM retention through graduation for all students, particularly those from underrepresented groups.     

Media Production

Mitchell V. Charnley and Blair Charnley, Reporting (New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1979—$9.95, paper)

Jerry McGuire's How to Write, Direct & Produce Effective Business Films and Documentaries (Blue Ridge Sunimit, Pa.: TAB Books, 1978—$14.95)

David W. Samuelson's Motion Picture Camera & Lighting Equipment: Choice & Technique (London and New York: Focal Press, 1977 (but not released in the US until February 1979)

David W. Samuelson's Motion Picture Camera Techniques (New York: Focal Press/Hastings House, 1978—$8.95, paper)

H. William Bockhus, Jr.'s Advertising Graphics (London: Collier Macmillan/New York: Macmillan, 1979—price not given, paper)

Stuart W. Hyde's Television and Radio Announcing (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1979-415.95)

Robert McLeish, The Technique of Radio Production (London and New York: Focal Press, 1979—$18.95)

David Lachenbruch's Videocassette Recorders: The Complete Home Guide (New York: Everest House, 1979—$6.95, paper)

Charles Bensinger, The Video Guide (Video-Info Publications, P.O. Box 1507, Santa Barbara, Calif. 93102—$14.95, paper)

Deirdre Boyle, ed. Expanding Media (Phoenix, Ar.: Oryx Press, 1977—$13.95)

Dan Poynter's The Self-Publishing Manual: How to Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book (Parachusting Publications, P.O. Box 4232, Santa Barbara, Calif. 93103—$14.95/9.95)     

Comparison of mail and telephone methods of studying media contactors

Cable regulation should be based on the unique characteristics of cable, the rights of speakers to be as free as possible from government regulation, and a First Amendment theory that recognizes the public's right to a diverse marketplace of ideas. As a consequence, it is recommended that cable be defined as a limited public forum to include both the utility poles/conduits and the attached coaxial cable. This approach suggests that de facto monopoly franchise agreements and franchise fees are unconstitutional, but that limited access channel requirements such as one or two public access channels would be constitutional.     

Education to Promote Positive Attitudes About Aging

ABSTRACT

This longitudinal study examined what a one-time intervention about aging does to the attitudes of high-school students toward aging. Early findings from the study support previous research that indicates ageist attitudes formed in early childhood become difficult to change as children reach adolescence. This research further supports the need for aging education to begin in early childhood.     

Picturebook Endpapers: Resources for Literary and Aesthetic Interpretation

In this article, we explore one of the important peritextual features of picturebooks—the endpapers. In order to represent the rich diversity of form and function displayed by endpapers, we group examples along two dimensions: whether the endpapers are illustrated or unillustrated, and whether the front and back end papers are identical or dissimilar. Within the four categories delineated by these two dimensions, we further articulate the various roles that endpapers can play in the construction of meaning from picturebooks. We present quotations from young children that show how they use endpapers as resources for literary and aesthetic interpretation, and provide suggestions for the integration of talk about endpapers within classroom literature discussions.