Preparing for re-entry; A program for the sojourning student

A visitor to a new country is assaulted by many changes, both environmental and cultural. Expecting things to be different the visitor is shocked by what he/she finds, thus the term culture shock. A second shock, possibly more traumatic, awaits the international sojourner upon his or her arrival home. The experiences of the returnee typically do not match his or her expectations. Frequently, the individual returning home is not anticipating adjustment difficulties. Compounding the problem is the fact that re-entry has not been widely recognized or researched and thus, little has been done to help individuals to prepare for it.Focusing on international students, who by definition return home, this paper refers to a wide range of social, cultural, political, educational and professional difficulties. The many variables which determine the extent of re-entry shock are identified and discussed. A group program is suggested as one strategy for assisting those about to return home. The results of a pilot study of such a program illustrate how it can be a powerful force to minimize the disorientation and shock of re-entry.This paper serves as a challenge to all those who are responsible or work with international students. Re-entry preparation is also a prerequisite if individuals, institutions, corporations, home countries and host countries are to maximize the benefits and minimize the problems of studying or working abroad.     

Measuring perceived social presence in distributed learning groups

Social presence—the degree to which ‘the other’ in a communication appears to be a ‘real’ person—has captured the attention of those dealing with learning in groups through computer-supported collaborative learning environments. The concept is important because it affects participation and social interaction, both necessary for effective collaboration and knowledge construction. This article reports on the construction and validation of a self-reporting (Dutch-language) Social Presence Scale to determine perceived social presence in distributed learning groups using computer-supported collaborative learning environments. The result is a one-dimensional scale consisting of five items with an internal consistency of .81. We used a nomological network of similar constructs for further validation. The findings suggest that the Social Presence Scale has potential to be useful as a measure for social presence.     

Effects of infant cries on alcohol consumption in college males at risk for child abuse

This analog study examines the effect of hearing a child's cries on alcohol consumption, comprising one link in a possible association between drinking and child abuse. Thirty-two male undergraduate volunteers were preselected by age, drinking practices, and abuse potential. Subjects were assigned to either a high or low abuse potential group and were then randomly assigned to hear either an infant cry or a smoke alarm. Blood pressure was measured during each of three stimulus presentations. Following each presentation, the subject was asked to rate the stimulus on a number of different dimensions (e.g., soothing-arousing). Additionally all subjects participated in a subsequent taste-rating task as an unobtrusive measure of alcohol consumption. The results indicate that, regardless of risk group, subjects who listened to the infant cry consumed significantly more alcohol (M = 206 ml, SD = 126.43) during the taste-rating task than did those who heard only the smoke alarm (Mr = 95.68 ml, SD = 62.94) which was also rated as aversive. There was no relationship between abuse potential and alcohol consumption. Although diastolic blood pressure did not differ between groups, analysis of the infant rating scales revealed that, regardless of risk group, subjects who heard the infant cry reported feeling more aversion, arousal, and distress, than did those who heard the smoke alarm. These results lend additional support to studies depicting the infant cry as a stressful and aversive event, capable of eliciting increased drinking. Implications for arousal reduction by alcohol and a model of alcohol-induced child abuse are discussed.     

Principal Recruitment: An Empirical Evaluation of a School District’s Internal Pool of Principal Certified Personnel

Applicant pools for principal vacancies are shrinking nationwide. This shortage of job applicants requires school districts to evaluate their internal pools of principal certified personnel. In this study, 194 certified individuals from a large school district responded to a survey measuring attraction to the job of principal, current job satisfaction versus expected satisfaction in the job of principal, barriers to pursuing the job, and recommended changes in the job. Few participants intended to apply for principal vacancies due to age (median=51), lack of self-reported capability to do the job, and satisfaction with the current job. Participants perceived their job satisfaction would decrease on assuming the job of principal relative to factors such as time with family and job security, and increase relative to factors such as salary and opportunity to experience varied activities. Implications for principal recruitment and recommendations for restructuring the job are discussed.     

Deconstitutive rhetoric: The destruction of legal personhood in the Global War on Terrorism

This essay examines a set of memoranda, speeches, and other official discourse issued during the Global War on Terrorism that transformed the legal paradigm under which the enemy was defined and authorized new norms of conduct previously prohibited by law. It argues that these texts employ “deconstitutive rhetoric,” defined as discursive action that undermines the existing legal status of those to whom it refers and produces a disarticulate, destitute subject by denying the individual access to the civic forums in which rhetorical agency may be exercised. The essay begins with an analysis of the use of deconstitutive rhetoric in the decision to legally re-define Afghanistan as a “failed state” in order to absolve the United States of treaty obligations with that nation. It then addresses the emergence of “unlawful enemy combatant status,” a new legal category not recognized under the international laws of war. The essay concludes with a discussion the Obama administration’s detention and drone strike policies, which have continued to use deconstitutive rhetoric to undermine the legal status of those captured and killed in the Global War on Terrorism.     

Sameness-difference judgments inSaimiri sciureus based on volumetric cues

The rationale was to apply Piaget’s theory and methods to the study of the phylogenetic development of cognitive abilities. It was asked whether squirrel monkeys have the prerequisite skills for conservation of quantity, and, specifically, whether they might respond differentially to equivalent and unequivalent volumetric cues. All monkeys responded significantly and differentially to pairs of identical objects or pairs of objects similar only in volume vs. pairs of objects which differed in volume. It was concluded that squirrel monkeys have the prerequisite skills for the conservation of quantity. Discussion included methodological problems associated with demonstrating conservation in nonhumans as well as the potential usefulness of Piaget’s theory for phylogenetic studies of intelligence.