The Effects of Political Violence on Palestinian Children's Behavior Problems: A Risk Accumulation Model

Interviews with 150 Palestinian mothers and their children living amidst the Intifada in the West Bank were conducted to assess exposure to political violence and family negativity as risk factors associated with behavioral problems as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist. The number of risks present in the child's life was significantly correlated with the number of behavioral problems the child exhibited ( R = .53, p < .001). The analysis further examined the role of gender, age, and community context in moderating the impact of high levels of accumulated risk on children's behavioral problems. Under conditions of high accumulated risk, boys evidenced more problems than girls, and younger children exhibited more problems than older children. Community context (as indicated by a high or low level of political violence) was a significant factor for girls but not for boys.     

Effects of identical context on visual pattern recognition by pigeons

The effects of identical context on pattern recognition by pigeons for outline drawings of faces were investigated by training pigeons to identify (Experiment 1) and categorize (Experiment 2) these stimuli according to the orientation of the mouth—an upright U shape representing a smiling mouth or an inverted U shape representing a sad mouth. These target stimuli were presented alone (Pair 1), with three dots in a triangular orientation to represent a nose and eyes (Pair 2), and with the face pattern surrounded by an oval (Pair 3). In Experiment 1, the pigeons trained with Pair 1 were most accurate, those trained with Pair 2 were less so, and those trained with Pair 3 failed to acquire the discrimination within eighty 100-trial sessions. The same ordering was found in Experiment 2 for pigeons trained on the three pairs simultaneously. The authors suggest that a contrasting finding in humans, the face superiority effect, might be due to a gain in discriminability resulting from recognition of the pattern as a face. An exemplar model of information processing that excludes linguistic coding accounts for the present results.     

The inheritance of behavioral wildness in house mice (Mus musculus L.)

Fourteen behavioral measures were ranked according to their ability to differentiate performances of a wild population of mice from three domestic inbred strains. These “wildness” rankings were then analyzed for their ability to predict genetic and Genotype by Environment interactions. Genetic parameters were derived from analysis of three inbred domestic strains and their three hybrid crosses via the diallel technique of genetic analysis. Genotype by Environment interactions were assessed both as mean differences in stock performances resulting from rearing in a laboratory vs naturalistic environment and as differences in environmental variability within stock genotypes. Behavioral characters ranking high on “wildness” failed to demonstrate any unitary pattern of Genotype by Environment interactions. The diallel genetic analysis revealed many examples of additive variation but relatively few examples of dominant variation. An extremely wide range of interactions occurred between genotype and rearing environments, with “wildness” and “developmental homeostasis” concepts both failing to account for all the observed interactions.     

Validating a computerized scoring system for assessing writing and placing students in composition courses

How do scores from writing samples generated by computerized essay scorers compare to those generated by “untrained” human scorers and what combination of scores, if any, is more accurate at placing students in composition courses? This study endeavored to answer this two-part question by evaluating the correspondence between writing sample scores generated by the IntelliMetric™ automated scoring system and scores generated by University Preparation English faculty, as well as examining the predictive validity of both the automated and human scores. The results revealed significant correlations between the faculty scores and the IntelliMetric™ scores of the ACCUPLACER™ OnLine WritePlacer Plus test. Moreover, logistic regression models that utilized the IntelliMetric™ scores and average faculty scores were more accurate at placing students (77% overall correct placement rate) than were models incorporating only the average faculty score or the IntelliMetric™ scores.     

Power,prestige and pedagogic identity: a tale of two programs recontextualizing teacher standards

Worldwide there has been a range of initiatives in the area of standards for teachers as part of a discourse of professionalism. In Australia there are a plethora of standards: state and territory frameworks, generic and subject‐specific, systemic and cross‐systemic, for pre‐service, beginning and experienced teachers. Little has been written as to how teacher education programs are responding to the standards agenda. This paper positions standards as integral to the recontextualizing field (Bernstein, 2000 Bernstein B 2000 Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity: theory, research, critique (Lanham, Rowman & Littlefield)  [Google Scholar]) for teacher educators and their programs. Using Bernsteinian concepts of fields, identities and framing, we compare the responses of two physical education teacher education programs to their state's standards imperatives. The authors conclude that the academic orientation of the university, together with the framing of the standards, affect the degree of programmatic change it will undertake in response to the changes in teacher certification standards.     

Aquatic-Aerobic Exercise as a Means of Stress Reduction during Pregnancy

The goals of this research were to explore the current literature regarding associations between psychological stress and adverse fetal outcome, associations between aerobic exercise and psychological stress reduction, and associations between aerobic exercise and fetal outcome. The published studies that were located provide evidence of the following: 1) Stress reactivity increases physiologically during pregnancy, 2) pregnant women may experience additional stressors that are usually not experienced in a nonpregnant state, 3) psychological stress in pregnancy is associated with adverse fetal outcome, 4) exercise can be a method of stress reduction, 5) exercise in pregnancy is not associated with adverse fetal outcome, and 6) exercise in pregnancy may provide benefit to the fetus. Data were analyzed from an original study and associations were reported between psychological stress-management activities and participation in aquatic aerobic exercise classes. No reports were available investigating an exercise-induced reduction in psychological stress with fetal outcome.     

Acculturation, substance use, and deviant behavior: examining separation and family conflict as mediators

This longitudinal study examined how separation and family conflict mediated the effects of two acculturation variables (English language use and generational status) on substance use (alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use) and deviant behavior outcomes in a Mexican American high school age sample. Structural equation modeling indicated that separation was a significant mediator of the relationship between acculturation and alcohol use, tobacco use, and deviant behavior. Family conflict mediated the effects of acculturation on marijuana use and deviant behavior. Model comparisons across gender groups suggested that generational status was an influential acculturation measure for females but not males. Additionally, English language use maintained a direct effect on marijuana use among females, whereas this relationship was mediated by separation for males.     

Making a difference? Measuring the impact of an information literacy programme for pre-registration nursing students in the UK

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether an information literacy programme for pre-registration nursing students at a UK higher education institution is effective in developing their skills and confidence: examines students' skill levels, factors affecting their confidence, and relationships between skills, confidence and demographic characteristics. METHODS: Quantitative and qualitative techniques were used: pre- and post-tests to measure changes in students' skills and self-assessed confidence levels after two key sessions in their first semester (n = 29); semi-structured interviews to explore factors affecting confidence (n = 5). RESULTS: Findings demonstrated positive impacts on skills and confidence. Key areas of skill development included: identifying journal articles, selecting search terms and evaluating website quality. Factors affecting confidence included: successful 'mastery' experiences in searching for information and the programme itself, especially small-group sessions, handouts and staff support. Evidence on links between skills, confidence and demographic factors was inconclusive. CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrated the programme's effectiveness and identified areas for development, including the need to help students understand the relative merits of search engines and other sources. Evidence has contributed to a change in departmental policy, making attendance at sessions mandatory. Further studies have been recommended.     

Using the web to encourage student-generated questions in large-format introductory biology classes

Students rarely ask questions related to course content in large-format introductory classes. The use of a Web-based forum devoted to student-generated questions was explored in a second-semester introductory biology course. Approximately 80% of the enrolled students asked at least one question about course content during each of three semesters during which this approach was implemented. About 95% of the students who posted questions reported reading the instructor's response to their questions. Although doing so did not contribute to their grade in the course, approximately 75% of the students reported reading questions posted by other students in the class. Approximately 60% of the students reported that the Web-based question-asking activity contributed to their learning of biology.