Self‐esteem groups for secondary pupils with dyslexia

This paper describes group work developed to enhance pupil self‐esteem. The intervention was originally developed in response to an identified need that arose in a resourced provision for pupils identified as having dyslexia, attached to a mainstream secondary school. However, more recently the same intervention has been found to be beneficial for pupils in mainstream provision. Feedback from pupils indicated that they found participating in a group very enjoyable, and that it had been useful to work with others who had similar difficulties. The staff involved reported a variety of beneficial outcomes for those who had taken part and requested that such groups become a regular feature of the psychology service to the school. A self‐rating scale administered prior to and following one group showed a rise in self‐esteem scores for the group as a whole over the course of the six‐week intervention.     

From serving students to serving the economy: Changing expectations of faculty role performance

In this article, it is argued that academic managers in state bureaucracies and universities are changing their expectations of faculty role. Such changes are generally justified as a necessary response to the fiscal crisis faced in many states. The nature and degree of these changing expectations are assessed through analysis of the goals and objectives addressing teaching, research and service in state, system and university planning documents as these bear on a single university over a ten year period (approximately 1970 to the present). Next, faculty behavior, as indicated by university statistics based on faculty activities reports, is examined to see if it is changing to conform to emerging managerial expectations. Finally, these changing role expectations are looked at in light of shifts in role resources.In the main, it is concluded that managers currently expect faculty to be more productive in specific ways: training students for high tech, high cost, high return jobs; securing more and more research monies; serving the public by linking research to industrial revitalization. However, managerial expectations may be based more on their perceptions of what is the most likely source of increased funding than on a realistic assessment of resource possibilities. Thus, changing managerial role expectations for faculty may simply result in greater managerial control of the university.     

Self-selection and Its Impact on Team Diversity and Performance

ABSTRACT : Increased diversity in the workforce brings several benefits. However, organizations may also face challenges as they seek to embrace diversity within team-based work environments. In this paper, we attempt to gauge the magnitude of this challenge by examining the level of diversity that results when individuals self-select their own team members. We describe a quasi-experimental field study in which we examine the ways individuals select project team members and how the resulting group composition is connected to the success or failure of those teams. We find that teams are most likely to form through prior acquaintance and/or demographic similarities. Linking composition to group process and performance, we find that ethnic diversity decreased similarity of work values but did not affect group performance, which is primarily predicted by satisfaction and conflict. We discuss the results in terms of the challenges and opportunities organizations face with a diverse workforce and a team-based work environment.     

Steven J. Ross,Working-Class Hollywood: Silent Film and the Shaping of Class in America

Journal of Cultural Economics -     

Adolescent Internalizing,Externalizing, and Social Problems Following Iron Deficiency at 12–18 Months: The Role of Maternal Responsiveness

This study tested whether maternal responsiveness moderated or mediated pathways from iron deficiency (ID) at 12–18 months to adolescent behavior problems. Participants were part of a large Chilean cohort (N = 933). Iron status was assessed at 12 and 18 months. Maternal responsiveness was assessed at 9 months and 5 years. Parents reported their child’s symptomology at 5 years, 10 years, and adolescence (11–17 years; M = 14.4). Structural equation modeling identified a previously unrecognized pathway by which child externalizing problems and negative maternal responsiveness at 5 years mediated associations between ID at 12–18 months and adolescent internalizing, externalizing, and social problems. Positive maternal responsiveness in infancy did not buffer those with ID anemia from developing 5-year internalizing problems.     

Single-parent college students' attributions toward academic success

This study investigated female single-parent college students' own attributions of academic success. A sample of 28 single-parent students participated in the study. Results indicated that single-parent students who are more successful make different causal attributions in regard to their GPA than do those who are less successful.     

Interrater reliability of the original and a revised scoring system for the developmental test of visual-motor integration

This study investigated the interrater reliability of teachers' and school psychology ex-terns' scoring of protocols for the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI). Previous studies suggest that the scoring criteria of the VMI are ambiguous, which when coupled with raters' lack of scoring experience, as well as limited knowledge of testing issues, contributes to low rater reliability. The original manual scoring system was used by four trained teachers with no VMI experience and by four experienced raters. A VMI scoring system, revised to eliminate ambiguous scoring criteria, was used by an additional four teachers inexperienced with the VMI and by four experienced raters. High reliability coefficients (>.90) were found for all raters, regardless of the scoring system employed. The influence on interrater reliability of factors such as training, nature of the training setting, characteristics of the raters, and ambiguity of scoring criteria is discussed.