A dialogue on employability skills: How can they be taught?

Robert Bhaerman is a Research and Development Specialist at the National Center for Research in Vocational Education at The Ohio State University. Rick Spill is an employment and training consultant working primarily with the United States Department of Labor, state JTPA divisions, Private Industry Councils, and local education agencies.     

Cultural Orientation Trajectories and Substance Use: Findings From a Longitudinal Study of Mexican‐Origin Youth

Cultural adaptation may influence Latino youth substance use (SU) development, yet few longitudinal studies have examined cultural change over time and adolescent SU outcomes. Using longitudinal data collected annually across ages 10–16 from 674 Mexican‐origin youth (50% female), the authors characterized cultural adaptation patterns for language use (English and Spanish use), values (American values and familism values), and identity (ethnic pride), and examined whether these cultural adaptation patterns were associated with differential SU risk. Youth with increasing bilingualism and high/stable family values had lower SU risk compared to youth who primarily spoke English and endorsed decreasing family values, respectively. Ethnic pride trajectories were not associated with SU. Findings highlight the importance of considering cultural change related to Latino youth SU.     

Second-order conditioning detects unexpressed morphine-induced salt aversion

Morphine failed to condition a salt taste aversion at a dose (15 mg/kg) sufficient to produce a robust aversion to a saccharin taste. Indeed, three different concentrations of salt (1%, 1.5%, and 2%) paired with the same morphine dose yielded no direct evidence for conditioned aversion. Yet, when a novel saccharin taste was paired in compound with the previously conditioned salt conditioned stimulus, we found evidence for a conditioning to the saccharin cue alone in three separate experiments. Control groups eliminated alternative accounts such as neophobia and differential exposure to morphine. Combined, these findings indicate that morphine conditioned a salt aversion. Although this aversion was not directly expressed, a second-order conditioning procedure was able to provide a more sensitive index of conditioning.     

Gender,marital status,and support systems of public school principals

Recent literature on leadership emphasizes the importance of support systems for individuals occupying prominent roles. This research examined the support systems of public school principals, comparing male and female and married and unmarried principals. Specifically, who provided support and the amount and type of support provided were examined. Specific characteristics of spouses who provide support were also explored. Drawing on surveys of over 170 principals from one southeastern state, the study found some significant differences and interesting similarities in the type and amount of support provided to male and female and married and unmarried principals. The findings differed from some of the literature on female principals in terms of the areas of similarity between males and females. Other findings generally supported the literature on support systems.     

Physical and cognitive development in the first two years

Summary Physical and cognitive development proceed at a breathtaking pace in the first two years of life. Infants enter the world as competent individuals who actively explore the external world from the moment of birth. As their basic reflexes disappear, they begin to engage in intentional and purposeful behavior. Their ability to move, as in crawling and walking, and to manipulate objects extends their opportunities to learn about the physical environment. Responsive and supportive caregivers who work with infants and toddlers play a critical role in providing an optimal learning environment that takes into account infants' unique developmental needs. The next segment of the four-part series addresses the social and emotional development of infants and toddlers.     

Long-term reaction of the rat to conspecific (frustration) odor

Rats’ choices in a T-maze were observed to determine (a) their long-term tendencies, in the apparent absence of reinforcement, to approach or avoid a goalbox containing a “frustration odor” stimulus generated by prior placements into the box of other rats given frustrative nonreward, and (b) the extent to which preferences for one or the other goalbox persisted following cessation of odor placements. The initial response to frustration odor was avoidance, though it took a few trials to develop. Avoidance was short-lived for most subjects, diminishing quickly and turning to a stable approach reaction, although three subjects developed an equally stable avoidance. These changes in response direction appeared to result from altered perception or interpretation of the odor rather than changed responsivity or alterations in the odor product itself. Preferences for one or the other of the goalboxes per se were but little affected by experiencing odor there.     

Choice Among Essay Topics: Impact on Performance and Validity

This study assessed the ability of history students to choose the essay topic on which they can get the highest score. A second, equally important question was whether the score on the chosen topic was more highly related to other indicators of proficiency in history than the score on the unchosen topic. Overall, for both U.S. and European history, scores were about one third of a standard deviation higher for the preferred topic than for the other topic. For U.S. history, about 32% of the students made the wrong choice; that is, 32% got a higher score on the other topic than on the preferred topic. In European history, 29% made the wrong choice. In the U.S. history sample, the preferred essay correlated .40 with an external criterion score, compared to .34 for the other essay; in the European history sample, the preferred essay correlated .52 with the external criterion, compared to .44 for the other topic.