A study of self‐concept and social support in advantaged and disadvantaged seventh and eighth grade gifted students

Understanding differences in perceptions of self‐concept and social support among special populations of gifted learners is critical to planning appropriate services for them. The present study investigated these differences among intellectually gifted students of junior high age who were participating in full time intensive programs for the gifted. Specifically, differences as a function of gender, ethnicity, and socio‐economic class were examined. Findings indicated some differences based on ethnicity and gender, but most differences were observed between lower and higher socio‐economic groups, particularly in the areas of social support and social and behavioral self‐concept. Implications from the study would suggest attention to these dimensions in program planning.     

Problems and Prospects of Implementing a Holistic Planning Framework in Vocational Education: Applications of the Organizational Elements Model

This study examines types of indicators which can be used to determine societal impact and how these indicators can be applied by an agency to provide useful information to its program planners. Using the Organizational Elements Model as a framework for the study, this project sought to define what data should be collected by the Florida Division of Vocational, Adult, and Community Education to indicate the societal impact of vocational programs.     

Beyond the Literal: Microtransformations in a Secondary ESL Classroom

There has been little exploration regarding how Anglo teacher's interactions with Latina/o language learners influence student subjectivities. In this article the author attempts to use a theoretical tool from Critical Race Theory called ?microaggressions” and her theoretical construct ?microtransformations” to explore how a teacher's linguistic engagements with Latina/o language learning students can create and disrupt particular racialized student subjectivities.     

Communicating across difference: Co-cultural theory,capital and multicultural families in Korea*

Utilizing Orbe’s co-cultural theory and Bourdieu’s theories of capital, this study examines the lived experiences and the communicative interactions employed by members of seven multicultural families in South Korea. Findings show the intertwined roles of economic capital, social capital, cultural capital and symbolic capital with co-cultural communication orientations, when interacting with members of the majority group. Particularly, findings reveal differences between Korean husbands and immigrant wives. For Korean husbands, economic and social capital are the most critical influential factors in their choices of communication orientations, while for immigrant wives, cultural and symbolic capital are most significant. Additionally, contrary to previous research, Confucianism and patriarchy played key roles in the marginalization of Korean men in multicultural families and influenced their co-cultural communication orientations.     

Effectiveness of antigraffiti treatments in connection with penetration depth determined by different techniques

The elimination of spray paint using traditional (chemical and mechanical) methods inevitably entails altering surface characteristics. Hence, the impact and deterioration caused by graffiti in heritage buildings and monuments have led to the development and application of preventive systems in the form of antigraffiti coatings (which prevent paint from seeping into the pores of the surface material and facilitate cleaning). The effectiveness of two of these treatments, a commercial product (fluoroalkyl siloxane, protectosil, marketed by Degussa) and a hybrid organic-inorganic material (Ormosil), was evaluated in five construction materials (limestone, granite, cement mortar, lime mortar and brick), in terms of their penetration into the substrate. A number of techniques were used to determine the penetration depth (SEM/EDX, micro-Raman and LIBS), because a comparative analysis showed that none was universally valid for all types of treatments. The results show that the presence of the coating on the surface of less porous materials only ensures effective cleaning when the surface is fairly smooth. In granite, for instance, the CF₃ terminals in the fluorinated treatment hinder spray paint bonding more effectively than Ormosil, but not efficiently enough to ensure complete removal of the paint from granite surfaces.     

Assessing the Impact of a Ceremony in Honor of the Body Donors in the Development of Ethical and Humanistic Attitudes among Medical Students

Activities related to body donation programs, such as donor memorial ceremonies, provide the opportunity to complement student training, especially with regard to the ethical and humanistic elements involved in medical training. This study sought to assess the impact of a ceremony in honor of the body donors has on ethical and humanistic attitudes in medical students. Medical students were surveyed about their perceptions of changes in themselves, respect for donors and donor families, and their relationship with patients. The effect of the students' contact with the family of the donor was analyzed in students who had contact with the cadaver in the dissection room and had either participated or not participated in the donor memorial ceremony. A total of 370 questionnaires were answered by first-, second-, and third-year medical students at the Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre in 2017. The students who participated in the ceremony presented more positive responses in relation to commitment to their studies, reflection on death, and positive development of empathy when compared to those who did not attend the ceremony. Most of the students that attended the ceremony suggested the event led to an improvement in the doctor–patient relationship. These results suggest that cadaver dissection with accompanied memorial ceremony involving contact with donor families is an effective means of fostering ethical and humanistic attitudes among medical students from the beginning of the course.     

Child extrafamilial sexual abuse: predicting parent and child functioning

Objective: This study evaluated the emotional and behavioral adjustment of parents and children within 3 months and 1 year after the discovery of child extrafamilial sexual abuse.Method: Ninety-two case parents (63 mothers, 29 fathers) and 56 children were compared to a nonclinical comparison group of 136 parents (74 mothers, 62 fathers) and 75 children. Parent adjustment was assessed using self-report measures while child functioning was assessed using a combination of child-, parent- and teacher-report measures.Results: Mothers, fathers and sexually abused children experienced clinically significant effects both initially and at 12 months post-disclosure. Children’s perceptions of self-blame and guilt for the abuse and the extent of traumatization predicted their self-reported symtomatology at 3 months and 1 year post-disclosure. Child age and gender also significantly contributed to the prediction of many of the child outcome measures. No abuse-related variable was related to any child self-report measure. Mothers’ satisfaction in the parenting role, perceived support and intrusive symptoms predicted their initial emotional functioning. Avoidant symptoms, child’s internalizing behavior and mothers’ initial emotional functioning were significant predictors of longer-term emotional functioning.Conclusions: Results emphasize the need to address children’s abuse-related attributions and underscore the need to expand our focus beyond the child victims to the traumatized families.     

The effects of personal and situational factors on university administrators' responses to sexual harassment

The present study was designed to assess how managerial personnel respond to various sexual harassment scenarios. Much of the sexual harassment research has utilized samples other than managerial personnel. Therefore, this study attempts to determine whether the findings in the literature generalize to a managerial sample. University administrators' responses to sexual harassment scenarios were assessed, with type of harassment (economic injury, hostile environment, or no harassment) and offender's status (supervisor or co-worker) being varied. Analyses revealed a lack of predicted sex differences in perceptions and definitions of sexual harassment and unanticipated sex differences in complaint handling and belief in sexual harassment myths. There were no offender status effects. The significant type of harassment effects was present for complaint handling, familiarity, and situation perceptions. In all cases, the respondents who received the “no harassment” scenario differed in their responses from the participants who had received one of the two harassment scenarios.     

Desktop Video Conferencing

As a relatively new delivery medium, desktop video conferencing (DVC) promises to bring traditional face-to-face teaching to computer screens. Although ample literature covers incorporating technology into classrooms, little documents the experiences and perceptions of participants in DVC courses and DVC's effects on teaching and learning. A recent ethnographic study that examined incidental learning in five DVC courses offered at an American university found that incidental learning often overshadowed the planned curriculum and found a high level of participant frustration. The study's results reaffirmed the importance of incidental learning in a DVC course and of developing an environment that reduces faculty and student frustrations.