Mediation or Moderation? Examining How Politically Like-Minded and Dissimilar Conversations Influence the Relationship Between Social Media Political Information Consumption and Political Participation

Research has shown that social media conversations with like-minded and politically dissimilar others are an important part of the political process. Yet more needs to be done to clarify the roles that these two types of social media-based conversations play in the political process. A stratified quota online survey was used to determine whether politically like-minded and dissimilar conversations mediate or moderate the relationship between social media-based political information consumption and political participation. Findings show support for the mediating, but not moderating role of politically based social media conversations. Social media political information consumption has a positive indirect relationship with political participation via both politically like-minded and dissimilar conversations. Contrary to previous research showing that politically dissimilar conversations impede political participation, results suggest that such conversations actually increase political participation. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

The literacies-as-events in the day of a life of an octogenarian: literacies of thriving as habits of a lifetime and (im)materially constituted

Much is known about the literacies of early life, adolescence and some aspects of adulthood such as workplace literacies, but there has been a dearth of attention to the literacies of late life. The invisibility of these literacies has the potential to skew how curricula, pedagogy and policy developers understand and plan for literacies that can sustain people across the life course. It also can play into deficit discourses of elders, such as those prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic, that have led to a parallel pandemic of ageism. To reverse this invisibility, this study aimed to bring to light the everyday literacies of thriving elders and the people, places and things involved therein. Through a sociomaterial orientation to literacies and adoption of a modified Day-in-the-Life methodology, this paper reports on the everyday literacies of ‘Gina’, an octogenarian woman who resided in an assisted living residence in the United States and self-identified as thriving. The study identified six key literacies-as-events in Gina's day that engaged a plethora of (im)material constituents such as memories, art materials and novels and created opportunities for the (re)invention of time and space. Lessons from Gina's day suggest what might be possible in/through literacies at all ages.     

Doctoral students’ experiences of nondisclosure with their dissertation chair

We examined doctoral students’ experiences of nondisclosure with their dissertation chairs. Using a hermeneutic phenomenology design, we analyzed two individual interviews of 10 doctoral students. We identified the following three themes: (a) the professional dynamics in the relationship, (b) the interpersonal and cultural dynamics in the relationship, and (c) prioritization of completing the dissertation. Implications for doctoral students and dissertation chairs are discussed.     

Thematic Analysis of Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma in Latinx Immigrant Families in the Southern US

Immigration is a growing social dynamic in many countries, eliciting a variety of different responses. Proponents of immigration note how the influx of new people into the United States (US) has enhanced the workforce and brought cultural enrichment; others have attributed to immigrants, particularly undocumented, a rise in crime and strains on social services. Consequently, immigrants often contend with discrimination and other unique stressors that increase the likelihood that immigration will be a traumatizing experience. Because scholarly focus on the impact of immigration upon psychological wellbeing typically highlights individual experiences, there is limited attention on the impact on immigrant families, particularly mixed-status families comprised of immigrant parents and children who are US citizens by birth. There is also limited attention on immigrant dynamics in the Southern US. This qualitative, thematic analysis explores the experiences of 71 pairs of Latinx immigrant mothers and their US citizen children, living in the Southern US, utilizing the lens of intergenerational transmission of trauma. Using narrative data taken from trauma assessment instruments, the authors identified the most prevalent themes shared by the mothers and their children as crime victimization, deportation, threats to family health, sexual abuse, and marital conflict.

     

What knowledge do early childhood teachers use during literacy instruction? Using stimulated recall to investigate an unexplored phenomenon

Reading and Writing - This study utilized a novel phenomenological approach with a stimulated recall procedure to understand the pedagogical reasoning of eight early child teachers during the...     

Enhancing school climate through social and emotional learning: effects of RULER in Mexican secondary schools

Learning Environments Research - We investigated the impact of RULER—an evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning—on school climate. Students and teachers from 37 Mexican...     

Engaging in Interactive Book Reading: Experiences of Refugee Mother–Child Dyads

Early Childhood Education Journal - Interactive book reading is an active practice that aims to stimulate children’s language and literacy development. The interactions that take place during...     

Theories of change and outcomes in home-based Early Head Start programs

Programs to promote children's early development are based on a set of assumptions, explicit or implicit, about intended outcomes and how the program will effect change. The “theories of change” were examined in ten home-based programs in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHSREP), using data collected through multiple interviews with program staff. All home-based programs indicated that parenting outcomes were among their highest three priorities, while only 4 of 10 programs said that child outcomes were in their top priorities. The pattern of outcome differences between randomly-assigned program and control group participants reflected the programs’ theories of change in several ways. Early Head Start home-based programs showed positive impacts on 9 of 9 parenting outcomes, including parental supportiveness, home language and learning supports, emotional responsiveness, and family conflict when children were 24 months of age. Significant program impacts on child cognitive skills (Bayley MDI scores) and social behavior (observed child engagement of parent during play) were found when children were 36 months of age. Mediation analyses showed that the 54% of the program impact on 36-month child cognitive scores was mediated by 24-month program impacts on parental supportiveness, language and learning support, emotional responsiveness, and family conflict, and 47% of the program impact on 36-month child engagement of parent was mediated by 24-month impacts on parental supportiveness, language and cognitive stimulation, and emotional responsiveness. Results from mediation analyses were consistent with these home-based programs’ theories of change, supporting the efficacy of focusing on parent change as a mechanism for child outcomes in home visiting programs.     

Helping Students Make Sense of Graphs: An Experimental Trial of SmartGraphs Software

Graphs are commonly used in science, mathematics, and social sciences to convey important concepts; yet students at all ages demonstrate difficulties interpreting graphs. This paper reports on an experimental study of free, Web-based software called SmartGraphs that is specifically designed to help students overcome their misconceptions regarding graphs. SmartGraphs allows students to interact with graphs and provides hints and scaffolding to help students, if they need help. SmartGraphs activities can be authored to be useful in teaching and learning a variety of topics that use graphs (such as slope, velocity, half-life, and global warming). A 2-year experimental study in physical science classrooms was conducted with dozens of teachers and thousands of students. In the first year, teachers were randomly assigned to experimental or control conditions. Data show that students of teachers who use SmartGraphs as a supplement to normal instruction make greater gains understanding graphs than control students studying the same content using the same textbooks, but without SmartGraphs. Additionally, teachers believe that the SmartGraphs activities help students meet learning goals in the physical science course, and a great majority reported they would use the activities with students again. In the second year of the study, several specific variations of SmartGraphs were researched to help determine what makes SmartGraphs effective.     

Psychometric Issues in Organizational Stressor Research: A Review and Implications for Sport Psychology

Organizational stressors can potentially elicit a number of undesirable consequences for sport performers. It is, therefore, imperative that psychologists better understand the demands that athletes encounter via their exploration and assessment. However, although researchers have identified a wide range of organizational stressors in competitive sport, they have yet to develop a measure or indicator to assess them. In contrast, scholars in other psychology subdisciplines have designed measures of organizational-related stressors, which have the potential to inform the advancement of stress research in sport. The purpose of this article is, therefore, to review psychometric issues in organizational stressor research and discuss the implications for sport psychology. The narrative is divided into four main areas: conceptual and theoretical issues, item development issues, measurement and scoring issues, and analytical and statistical issues.