Emotion socialization and expressive development in preterm and full-term infants

The expressive behaviors of full-term and preterm infants and their mothers were examined during face-to-face interaction when the infants were approximately 2 1/2, 5, and 7 1/2 months old. Videotapes of the sessions were coded on a second-to-second basis using Izard's discrete emotion coding system. Overall, infants showed a linear increase in positive effect, especially interest and joy, and a corresponding decrease in negative affect, especially pain and knit brow, with age; decrease in negative affect was accounted for largely by the preterm infants. In terms of maternal responses, there was an increase in contingent responding to infant interest expressions and a decrease in contingent responding to infant pain expressions over time, especially in the case of the preterm infant. The data set as a whole was examined further to establish the directionality of influence between mothers and infants in change patterns over time. There was evidence of learning effects in infants as a function of maternal modeling and contingency patterns. Anomalies in maternal responses to preterm infant affect expressions were observed. Mothers of these infants displayed significantly less matching or imitation of their infant's facial expressions, showed random rather than contingent responsiveness to sadness, and a significant ignoring response to infant anger. These differences were attributed to differences in gazing patterns and negative emotion expression in preterm infants. The results are discussed within a framework of emotion socialization that recognizes bidirectionality of influence in the emotional patterns of mothers and infants.     

The impact of previous perinatal loss on subsequent pregnancy and parenting

The loss of any pregnancy through miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth, or neonatal death presents as a significant life crisis for any woman and has far-reaching implications into a couple's future aspirations. Planning another pregnancy after dealing with a perinatal loss is difficult and plagued by ambivalence, doubts, and insecurities. Despite this ambivalence, a majority of women do become pregnant within a year following a perinatal loss. Four recurring issues surrounding perinatal loss and subsequent pregnancy have been identified in this literature review: the effect of the grief process on the subsequent pregnancy; parental coping mechanisms during the subsequent pregnancy; replacement or vulnerable child syndrome; and parenting issues with the subsequent live-born child. Issues surrounding anxiety as a coping mechanism during a pregnancy following a perinatal loss are documented consistently in the literature; however, less is known about the impact that a loss has on parenting behaviors with subsequent children. Further research is imperative to examine these issues in more detail so that evidence-based practices can be established and updated. Health care providers are in a unique position to assist these couples in dealing with the issues that a perinatal loss may place on subsequent pregnancies. By providing a reassuring and supportive environment, women can achieve a positive pregnancy outcome with the correct tools to decrease anxiety and enhance attachment to the subsequent healthy child.     

Enhancing children's narratives in investigative interviews

OBJECTIVE: To illustrate the amount of detail that can be elicited from alleged abuse victims using open-ended prompts by closely examining forensic interviews of a 5-year-old and a 15-year-old. METHOD: Interview prompts in the substantive sections of two forensic interviews were characterized as invitations, cued invitations. directive or option-posing, and the number of details they each elicited was tabulated. RESULTS: In both interviews, open-ended prompts predominated and were distributed throughout the substantive phases of the interviews. Most of the information obtained was elicited using open-ended prompts, which remained equivalently effective throughout the interviews. Reconstruction of the children's accounts illustrated how successive prompts continued to elicit information. CONCLUSION: Well-framed open-ended prompts, including those that use details provided by the child as cues, elicit narrative accounts from children of all ages. Because such information is more likely to be accurate, investigators are urged to rely more extensively on open-ended prompts.     

Ethical issues in web data mining

Web mining refers to the whole of data miningand related techniques that are used toautomatically discover and extract informationfrom web documents and services. When used in abusiness context and applied to some type ofpersonal data, it helps companies to builddetailed customer profiles, and gain marketingintelligence. Web mining does, however, pose athreat to some important ethical values likeprivacy and individuality. Web mining makes itdifficult for an individual to autonomouslycontrol the unveiling and dissemination of dataabout his/her private life. To study thesethreats, we distinguish between `content andstructure mining' and `usage mining.' Webcontent and structure mining is a cause forconcern when data published on the web in acertain context is mined and combined withother data for use in a totally differentcontext. Web usage mining raises privacyconcerns when web users are traced, and theiractions are analysed without their knowledge.Furthermore, both types of web mining are oftenused to create customer files with a strongtendency of judging and treating people on thebasis of group characteristics instead of ontheir own individual characteristics and merits(referred to as de-individualisation). Althoughthere are a variety of solutions toprivacy-problems, none of these solutionsoffers sufficient protection. Only a combinedsolution package consisting of solutions at anindividual as well as a collective level cancontribute to release some of the tensionbetween the advantages and the disadvantages ofweb mining. The values of privacy andindividuality should be respected and protectedto make sure that people are judged and treatedfairly. People should be aware of theseriousness of the dangers and continuouslydiscuss these ethical issues. This should be ajoint responsibility shared by web miners (bothadopters and developers), web users, andgovernments.     

Inhibition: Its Stability and Correlates in Sixteen- to Forty-Month-Old Children

Inhibition was assessed in 144 Swedish children when they averaged 16 months of age using a composite measure tapping sociability toward strange adults, noninvolvement in peer play, and parental ratings of fearfulness. 91 children entered out-of-home care within 2 weeks of these initial assessments. Children were observed in this setting playing with peers; teachers and parents also rated children's adjustment to the out-of-home care settings. 1 and 2 years later, the children were assessed again, both at home and in the alternative care settings. Results showed that individual differences in inhibition were stable over the 2 years of the study. Inhibited children engaged in less high-quality peer play both at home and in the alternative care settings, and they were less able to play alone in their mothers' absence. On contemporaneous but not subsequent ratings, inhibited children had more difficulty adjusting to out-of-home care. Inhibition was not itself affected by out-of-home care experiences, and there were no sex differences in inhibition.     

The non‐fiction reading habits of young successful boy readers: forming connections between masculinity and reading

The reading experiences of six young successful boy readers were studied over a two‐year period. In this article, their non‐fiction reading is analysed and ways in which the boys make positive connections between masculinity and reading are identified. The boys' non‐fiction reading centres on typical boy interest areas and hobbies (for example, football, space, dinosaurs) and, through their reading, they have become experts on these areas. This has earned them respect from their peers, particularly other boys, and a high status, hegemonic masculine identity in the classroom. Thus, for this group of boys, unlike many other boys, masculinity and reading are compatible; in this particular version of masculinity, reading is a desirable pursuit.     

The use of telemedicine in child sexual abuse evaluations

OBJECTIVE: To describe the advantages, disadvantages and current status of child abuse consultations conducted through telemedicine networks. METHOD: The results of a telephone survey of seven statewide telemedicine networks are reported and discussed with respect to goals, funding, technical support and expertise, infrastructure, and extent of use. Quality assurance and liability issues concerning telemedicine child abuse consultations are also reviewed. RESULTS: The goals of telemedicine networks in child abuse are to provide (1) expertise to less experienced clinicians primarily in rural areas; (2) a method for peer review and quality assurance to build consensus of opinions particularly in sexual abuse cases; and (3) support for professionals involved in an emotionally burdensome area of pediatrics. Problems encountered by existing networks include: (1) funding for equipment and reimbursement for consultation; (2) consistent technical support: (3) clinician lack of technical expertise, knowledge, or motivation; and (4) lack of network infrastructure. Legal considerations include licensure exemptions for consulting across state lines, potential for malpractice, patient confidentiality and security of images forwarded over modem lines, and liability of the equipment, consulting site, and the consultant in criminal proceedings. CONCLUSIONS: Telemedicine consultations offer a unique opportunity to raise the standard of care in child abuse evaluations, but success depends on clinician motivation, appropriate infrastructure, and ongoing funding and technical support.     

Implementation of a project-based molecular biology laboratory emphasizing protein structure-function relationships in a large introductory biology laboratory course

In introductory laboratory courses, many universities are turning from traditional laboratories with predictable outcomes to inquiry-inspired, project-based laboratory curricula. In these labs, students are allowed to design at least some portion of their own experiment and interpret new, undiscovered data. We have redesigned the introductory biology laboratory course at Brandeis University into a semester-long project-based laboratory that emphasizes concepts and contains an element of scientific inquiry. In this laboratory, students perform a site-directed mutagenesis experiment on the gene encoding human γD crystallin, a human eye lens protein implicated in cataracts, and assess the stability of their newly created protein with respect to wild-type crystallin. This laboratory utilizes basic techniques in molecular biology to emphasize the importance of connections between DNA and protein. This project lab has helped engage students in their own learning, has improved students' skills in critical thinking and analysis, and has promoted interest in basic research in biology.