Lying and deception detection in television families

This study explores the use of lying and lie‐detection among television families in situation comedies. The findings indicate that (a) lying was prevalent on these television shows; (b) lies to spare others were told most frequently; (c) the majority of lies went undetected; (d) the husband/father character told the most lies; (e) children were the most honest characters in situation comedies and (f) peripheral characters were the recipients of many lies. Two conclusions were drawn from these findings. First, this study gives insight into the content of family communication as presented on television. Secondly', the study suggests television families mirror real families with respect to family structure and the ability to detect deception.     

Interrogative strategies and information exchange in computer‐mediated communication

The explosive growth of Internet and E‐mail use has provided exceptional opportunities for humans to mediate their communication and thus their relationships in new ways. This study reports on a content analysis of interrogative strategies used in E‐mail messages exchanged over six months between intergenerational sets of senior citizens and youngsters. A great deal of relationship development is facilitated by the use of questions which are a core aspect of uncertainty reduction processes. While Uncertainty Reduction Theory (URT) has been a predominant theoretical position for examining face‐to‐face initial interaction, its utility for examining communication in an asynchronous, computer‐mediated environment was only partially effective. Data analyses focused on politeness of questions, types of questions, and, temporal effects. Results suggest that the interrogative strategies we engage in to achieve interpersonal connectedness are sometimes different in computer‐mediated communication (CMC) and a new standard for transacting relational message exhange may be emerging.     

Seven aspects of democracy as related to study circles

Despite a number of relevant longitudinal studies carried out in Sweden, Finland, Norway and the United States of America, there is a relative paucity of research into the long-term outcomes of adult return to learning. This paper uses data from the first survey in Scotland into the longterm outcomes of adult learning (in this case, formal education/training) in order to explore the potential of adult learning for enhancing social citizenship,by facilitating labour market insertion and progress. The paper focuses particularly on an analysis of gender patterns. The issues addressed are: the extent to which respondents expected participation in adult education to benefit them in the labour market; whether labour-market-orientated participation in adult education brought positive occupational outcomes; the extent to which unintended labour market outcomes arose from participation in adult education; how women who undertook adult education did in labour market terms compared to men; to what extent personal perception of labour market progress was related to income; the kind of adult education which appeared to bring the most beneficial labour market outcomes; and any differences between men and women in this respect.     

Longitudinal Relations Among Language Skills,Anger Expression,and Regulatory Strategies in Early Childhood

Researchers have suggested that as children's language skill develops in early childhood, it comes to help children regulate their emotions (Cole, Armstrong, & Pemberton, 2010; Kopp, 1989), but the pathways by which this occurs have not been studied empirically. In a longitudinal study of 120 children from 18 to 48 months of age, associations among child language skill, observed anger expression, and regulatory strategies during a delay task were examined. Toddlers with better language skill, and whose language skill increased more over time, appeared less angry at 48 months and their anger declined more over time. Two regulatory strategies, support seeking and distraction, explained a portion of the variance in the association between language skill and anger expression after toddlerhood.     

Goals,Expectations, and Satisfaction of Criminal Justice Majors: Implications for Faculty,Students, and Programs*

Students majoring in criminal justice present an “embarrassment of riches” for academic programs, so little attention has been given to these students and their perspectives on criminal justice programs. However, the assessment movement in higher education and the ACJS encourage self‐examination and program improvement. Further, student satisfaction has been recognized as an important element in the discussion of school and program quality and effectiveness. The present paper presents data from an outcome survey of graduating seniors from a Midwestern public university, with a focus on the reasons why students chose the major, career plans upon graduation, and program satisfaction. The paper explores possible predictors of these variables and discusses the implications of these results for criminal justice faculty, students, and programs.