Facilitators of and barriers to school psychologists' social–emotional/behavioral practices

Using data from a national survey of school psychologists we investigated (a) the extent to which school psychologists supported students' social–emotional and behavioral well-being using data and evidence-based practices programming, (b) how facilitators and barriers impacted school psychologists' service delivery in these areas, and (c) how participants' demographic characteristics predicted facilitators to these practices. The survey was administered to randomly selected National Association of School Psychologists' members. One hundred ninety-nine full-time, school-based school psychologists (24% response rate) completed the survey. Results indicated more practitioners reported using data to design, implement, and evaluate evidence-based strategies for social–emotional and behavioral supports (M = 3.32, SD = 0.90) than reported using evidence-based strategies themselves in these same areas (M = 3.10, SD = 1.05). School psychologists who reported more facilitators were more likely to use data and engage in evidence-based practices related to social–emotional and behavioral supports for students. Results also indicated certain barriers impeded school psychologists' practices in these areas. Few demographic characteristics predicted the presence of facilitators or barriers. Findings from the current study extend the extant literature by providing empirical data on facilitators of and barriers to services related to school psychologists' use of data and evidence-based practices in these areas.     

Personality profiles and dogmatism in undergraduate teacher education students

A sample of 435 junior education majors in a large Southwestern university were given the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire and the Opinion Scale. Correlations were computed between these two scales, and a profile of personality factors was developed which defined the nature of authoritarianism or dogmatism. A step-wise multiple regression analysis revealed that an accurate prediction formula for dogmatism could not be developed from the personality factor scores. Implications for teacher education programs include research to determine if treatment programs can be developed to change a student's degree of dogmatism, and the importance of screening procedures which include an assessment of open-mindedness.     

The art of the good life: culture and sustainable prosperity

ABSTRACT

The creative economy has seen cultural policy swallowed up by a narrow vision of economic growth, its impacts on the urban fabric captured by property developers, and its promises of meaningful activity challenged by the exploitation and inequities of cultural labour markets. So it needs to be abandoned and re-thought, but on what basis? This paper analyses the potential for cultural work to encourage alternative visions of the “good life”, in particular, how it might encourage a kind of “sustainable prosperity” wherein human flourishing is not linked to high levels of material consumption but rather the capabilities to engage with cultural and creative practices and communities. We critically explore these ideas in three locations: a London borough, a deindustrialised city in England’s midlands and a rural town on the Welsh/English border. Across these diverse landscapes and socio-economic contexts, we look at different versions of the good life and at the possibilities and constraints of cultural activity as a way of achieving kinds of sustainable prosperity.     

Functional shoulder ratios with high velocities of shoulder internal rotation are most sensitive to determine shoulder rotation torque imbalance: a cross-sectional study with elite handball players and controls

The aim of the present study was to determine which approach to calculating shoulder ratios is the most sensitive for determining shoulder torque imbalance in handball players. Twenty-six participants (handball athletes, n = 13; healthy controls, n = 13) performed isokinetic concentric and eccentric shoulder internal rotation (IR) and external rotation (ER) assessment at 60, 180 and 300°/s. We used eight approaches to calculating shoulder ratios: four concentric (i.e. concentric ER torque divided by concentric IR torque), and four functional (i.e. eccentric ER torque divided by concentric IR torque) at the velocities of 60, 180 and 300°/s for both IR and ER, and combining 60°/s of ER and 300°/s of IR. A three factorial ANOVA (factors: shoulder ratios, upper limb sides, and groups) along with Tukey’s post-hoc analysis, and effect sizes were calculated. The findings suggested the functional shoulder ratio combining 60°/s of ER and 300°/s of IR is the most sensitive to detect differences between upper limbs for handball players, and between players and controls for the dominant side. The functional shoulder ratio combining 60°/s of ER with 300°/s of IR seems to present advantages over the other approaches for identifying upper limb asymmetries and differences in shoulder torque balance related to throwing.     

Treating the regular class child in the mainstreaming process: Increasing social cognitive development

Regular class children who tease their mainstreamed peers can and do create problems for the implementation of mainstreaming. A solution to this problem is offered from the cognitive developmental school of thought through a discussion of recent theory and educational research in this area. It is shown that both moral judgment and interpersonal conceptions (two cognitive developmental domains) seem to be related to adequate social adjustment. Recent empirical studies have demonstrated success in raising children's level of reasoning in these areas. Direct applications of these recent findings to the mainstreaming problem are discussed.     

The incidence and utility of the ACID,ACIDS, and SCAD profiles in a referred population

THE ACID, ACIDS, and SCAD profiles are examples of subtest patterns from the WISC-III that have been proposed as potentially helpful in differential diagnosis of exceptionalities. This study investigated the prevalence and utility of these profiles in a large referred population. Although the incidence rates of the ACID and ACIDS profiles in some groups were greater than rates reported for the standardization sample, incidence levels were found to be low in all clinical groups studied. The SCAD profile evidenced generally higher incidence rates but none greater than the rates reported for the standardization sample. The findings support the use of conditional probabilities and incremental gains based on the actual incidence from a referred population to assist in differential diagnosis; however, none of the profiles are recommended as a criterion for determining exceptionality.     

General Communication

COMMUNICATION RESEARCH: ISSUES AND METHODS by James A. Anderson (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1987--price not given)

MASS MEDIA RESEARCH: AN INTRODUCTION by Roger D. Wimmer and Joseph R. Dominick (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1987---price not given)

SEARCH STRATEGIES IN MASS COMMUNICATION by Jean Ward and Kathleen Hansen (New York: Longman, 1986---$34.95/15.95)

THE KNOWLEDGE INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES: 1960-1980 by Michael Rogers Rubin and Mary Taylor Huber (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1986---$40.00)

KNOWLEDGE GENERATION, EXCHANGE, AND UTILIZATION edited by George M. Beal, et al. (Houlder,CO: Westview Press, 1986---$38.00, paper)

OVERLOAD AND BOREDOM: ESSAYS ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY by Orrin K. Klapp (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1986---$29.95)

INTERNEDIA: INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION IN A MEDIA WORLD edited by Gary Gumpert and Robert Cathcart (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986---$16.95, paper)

MAPPING THE INFORMATION BUSINESS by John McLaughlin and Anne Lousie Antonoff (Cambridge: Harvard University Program on Information Resources Policy, 1986---price not given, paper)     

Impact and dynamics of portfolio assessment and traditional assessment in a college physics course

Popular belief in alternative assessment procedures suggests that the use of student portfolios can help learners successfully organize and integrate newly acquired scientific knowledge. This two-group comparison study documents the use of student created portfolios in an algebra-based, college-level, introductory physics course. Sixteen students were assessed primarily using a portfolio-style assessment procedure. Nineteen students were assessed primarily using traditional, objective examinations. Both groups were given the same cumulative, multiple-choice final examination. All students completed a pre- and post-self-report survey of achievement in physics. There were no significant differences in learner achievement between the two groups on the final examination or on the self-report of achievement given before and after instruction. Analysis of two focus group discussions did, however, suggest that students assessed by portfolios feel less anxious about learning physics, devote considerable time to reading and studying outside of class, internalize and personalize the content material, and enjoy the learning experience. The results of this study suggest that portfolio-style assessment procedures support student achievement at least at the same level as traditional assessment procedures and appear to have additional benefits. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34: 255–271, 1997.     

Born Again or ‘Dumbing Down’? Cultural Trends in the 1990s

A person who everyday looks upon a beautiful picture, reads a page from some good book, and hears a beautiful piece of music will soon become a transformed person – one born again [Labour, 1997]. Across the world, music audiences are being eroded by an array of domestic electronic attractions. Habitual concertgoers fear to venture into the inner city after dark, or get deterred by traffic jams and parking restrictions. A new generation raised on television soundbites and instant hamburgers has been jaggedly desensitised to the stately magniloquence of an hour-long symphony. The sharing of music within families has been blighted by the decline of the nuclear family. Music teaching, insofar as it is still provided in public school systems, has been rendered almost worthless by a politically correct tendency to treat all musics as equal – the primitive with the refined, the commercial with the spiritual [Lebrecht, 1996].