Isokinetic Torque in Boys and Girls Ages 7 to 13: Effect of Age,Height, and Weight

The purpose of this study was to investigate torque differences between 28 boys and 28 girls, ages 7 to 13 years, for the knee and elbow flexor and extensors at 30°/second and 120°/second using an isokinetic procedure (Cybex II). In addition, the relationships of these torque levels to size and age were determined. The results revealed significant (p < .05) sex differences for the knee flexor and extensor torque values at 120°/second independent of body weight. That is, the boys generated 29.2 and 39.5 foot pounds vs. the girl's 26.2 and 35.4 foot pounds for knee flexion and extension, respectively. Similarly, torque differences (p < .05) between boys and girls were present for elbow extension at 120°/second when adjusting for differences in height. When examining the flexion/extension ratios, it is apparent that increases in body size (height, weight) and age had a significant effect on the ratio at 120°/second but not at 30°/second.     

Perceptions of Joint Family Storytelling as Mediators of Family Communication Patterns and Family Strengths

Using family communication patterns theory, this study tested the degree to which perceptions of joint family storytelling mediate the relationship between family communication patterns (i.e., conversation and conformity orientations) and family strengths. Participants included 267 young adults from first-marriage families. Results indicated that conversation orientation is positively associated with the interactional sense-making (ISM) behaviors that characterize jointly told family stories (i.e., engagement, polite turn-taking, perspective-taking and coherence) and family strengths, while conformity orientation is negatively associated with ISM behaviors and family strengths. Indirect effects emerged for conversation and conformity orientations on family strengths through perceptions of ISM behaviors. Specifically, perceptions of storytelling engagement and polite turn-taking mediated the positive association between conversation orientation and family strength, while engagement, perspective-taking, and polite turn-taking mediated the inverse association between conformity orientation and family strength.     

Project Infusion: teachers,training, and technology

ABSTRACT

This paper describes a teacher training project at Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida. The purpose of this project is to develop, implement, and evaluate a model for providing district‐wide teacher training in the use and integration of instructional technology to achieve curricular goals that are competency‐based and designed to be world class standards. The project was funded by the US Department of Education's Fund for Innovation in Education for a period of three years. During that time, 284 elementary teachers received graduate credit at Barry University for participation in an intensive course on the infusion of technology across the curriculum and for conducting teacher training at their own schools. This paper describes the teacher training model and preliminary results of the project.     

Experiencing and Managing Uncertainty about Climate Change

This paper joins uncertainty management and problematic integration literatures to better understand how people experience and manage uncertainty about climate change. Interviews with 235 stakeholders from private, public, and non-profit organizations in the state of Washington indicate an interesting disparity of certainty and the role of climate-related information. A majority of participants (n=137) were certain that energy use and climate change are related, and far fewer (n=13) were certain that they are not related. Our interpretive analysis indicates notable differences regarding the way people experience and management uncertainty.     

Development of a Measure to Assess Youth Self-reported Experiences of Activity Settings (SEAS)

There is a need for psychometrically sound measures of youth experiences of community/home leisure activity settings. The 22-item Self-Reported Experiences of Activity Settings (SEAS) captures the following experiences of youth with a Grade 3 level of language comprehension or more: Personal Growth, Psychological Engagement, Social Belonging, Meaningful Interactions, and Choice & Control. Forty-five youth aged 14–23 years (10 with severe disabilities) completed the SEAS in 160 leisure activity settings. The SEAS has good to excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha from 0.71 to 0.88) and moderate test–retest reliability (mean scale intra-class correlation coefficient = 0.68), as expected due to changes in activity settings over time. The SEAS was able to differentiate various types of activity settings and participation partners. The SEAS can be used to gain greater understanding of situation-specific experiences of youth participating in various types of recreation and leisure activity settings, including youth with different types of disabilities and those without disabilities.     

THELMA AND LOUISE DO RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: A DIALOGUE FROM THE EDGE FOR LEADING WITH HOPE

The 1991 movie Thelma and Louise and its protagonists continue to be cultural icons for many women of all ages. With quotations, song lyrics, the metaphor of the edge from the film, and collected wisdom from pedagogy, two religious educators reflect on their vocations and leadership drawing implications for the teaching ministry. The themes address friendship, the journey, risk-taking, awakening, turning points, and the choice to keep going. The authors believe that friendship and co-creating dialogue offer their students hopeful models of leadership for ministry and higher education in mutually beneficial ways.     

Backstabbing in Organizations: Employees’ Perceptions of Incidents,Motives, and Communicative Responses

This study examined employees’ perceptions of backstabbing in the workplace and an initial typology was developed for backstabbing incidents, perceived motives, and communicative responses. We employed thematic inductive analysis and unitizing to develop the typology and approached this study from the decoder's perspective (the target), whereas previous research on other negative behaviors in the workplace focused on the encoder's perspective (the perpetrator). Results indicated that active incidents (e.g., talked behind back) were more prevalent than passive incidents (e.g., withheld information), perceived motives were primarily self-interest (e.g., self-advancement), and communicative responses included interaction (e.g., confronted backstabber), action (e.g., left job), and inaction (e.g., ignored). Other responses were emotion and cognition. Demographics indicated that this phenomenon cuts across numerous organizations, industries, and hierarchical positions.     

Strengthening parental self-efficacy and resilience: A within-subject experimental study with refugee parents of adolescents

Post-migration stress and parenting adolescents can reduce parental self-efficacy. This study tested the effects of strengthening parental self-efficacy in refugee parents of adolescents and whether this makes parental self-efficacy less impacted by post-migration stressors. Using a within-subject experimental design, experience sampling data were collected in 2019 from 53 refugee parents of adolescents (M_age = 39.7, SD_age = 5.59, 73% Syrian, 70% mothers) in the Netherlands. Data were analyzed by dynamic structural equation modeling using interrupted time-series analysis. The single-session personalized intervention strengthened parental self-efficacy (small effect: between case standardized mean difference = 0.09) and made refugee parents less vulnerable to post-migration stressors. Findings suggest that parental self-efficacy is malleable and strengthening it fosters refugee parents' resilience. Replications with longer-term follow-ups are needed.     

Effects of multimedia on cognitive load, self-efficacy, and multiple rule-based problem solving

This study investigates effects of multimedia on cognitive load, self-efficacy and learners' ability to solve multiple rule-based problems. Two hundred twenty-two college students were randomly assigned to interactive and non-interactive multimedia groups. Based on Engelkamp's multimodal theory, the present study investigates the role of multimedia in multiple rule-based problem solving. The findings indicate that providing learners with manipulative function in multimedia would facilitate their problem solving through reduced cognitive load and improved self-efficacy. The study identifies a significant mediator effect for self-efficacy that mediates between multimedia and learners' problem solving. Discussion focuses on the effects of multimedia and self-efficacy on learners' performance in multiple rule-based problem solving. Suggestions are made with regard to the design of problem solving in future studies.     

Numerical Estimation in Deaf and Hearing Adults

Deaf students often lag behind hearing peers in numerical and mathematical abilities. Studies of hearing children with mathematical difficulties highlight the importance of estimation skills as the foundation for formal mathematical abilities, but research with adults is limited. Deaf and hearing college students were assessed on the Number-to-Position task as a measure of estimation, and completed standardised assessments of arithmetical and mathematical reasoning. Deaf students performed significantly more poorly on all measures, including making less accurate number-line estimates. For deaf students, there was also a strong relationship showing that those more accurate in making number-line estimates achieved higher scores on the math achievement tests. No such relationship was apparent for hearing students. Further insights into the estimation abilities of deaf individuals should be made, including tasks that require symbolic and non-symbolic estimation and which address the quality of estimation strategies being used.