The Antecedents of Menarcheal Age: Heredity, Family Environment, and Stressful Life Events

Variations in pubertal timing, specifically age at menarche, have been associated with several antecedents, both genetic and environmental. Recent research has considered a broader range of environmental stressors and their influence on the development of the reproductive system. In this investigation, the following possible antecedents were considered: ( a ) hereditary transmission, ( b ) weight and weight for height, ( c ) stressful life events, ( d ) family relations, ( e ) absence or presence of an adult male in the household, and ( f ) psychological adjustment. Subjects were 75 premenarcheal girls between the ages of 10 and 14 drawn from a larger longitudinal investigation of adolescent development. Girls were from white, well-educated, middle- to upper-middle-class families and attended private schools in a northeastern urban area. While breast development, weight, family relations, and depressive affect were predictive of age at menarche, family relations predicted age at menarche above the influence of breast development or weight. A trend for maternal age at menarche to predict adolescent's age at menarche was found. Weight for height, presence of an adult male in the household, and stressful events were not predictive of age at menarche. These complex interactions of biological and psychosocial development demonstrated here may account to some extent for the inter- and intraindividual variation observed in pubertal development.     

Comparisons of adopted and nonadopted adolescents in a large, nationally representative sample

There are conflicting findings about whether adopted children have more psychological and behavioral problems than nonadoptees. Research results are discrepant partly because many previous studies were based on small clinical samples or on samples biased by self-selection. A nationally representative school survey (Add Health) was used to compare adopted (n = 1,587) and nonadopted adolescents (total N = 87,165) across a wide variety of measures. Standardized mean differences show that adopted adolescents are at higher risk in all of the domains examined, including school achievement and problems, substance use, psychological well-being, physical health, fighting, and lying to parents. Demographic and background variable breakdowns show that the effect sizes for differences between adopted and nonadopted adolescents were larger for males, younger or older adolescents, Hispanics or Asians, and adolescents living in group homes or with parents of low education. Distributional analyses revealed approximately a 1:1 ratio of adopted to nonadopted adolescents in the middle ranges of the outcome variables but a ratio of 3:1 or greater near the tails of the distributions. These data clearly show that more adopted adolescents have problems of various kinds than their nonadopted peers; effect sizes were small to moderate based on mean differences, but comparisons of distributions suggest much larger proportions of adopted than nonadopted adolescents at the extremes of salient outcome variables.     

The Emotional Contours and Career Trajectories of (Disappointed) Reform Enthusiasts

Three individual cases, drawn from a larger body of case study data, illuminate a relatively unexamined aspect of teachers’ participation in large‐scale reform‐‐teachers’ experience of heightened emotionality and its relationship to career discontinuity or career risk. Disappointed reform enthusiasts point to three conditions that intensify emotional responses to reform and appear to result in career turning points: (1) the nature and extent of reform‐related conflict within salient work groups; (2) the degree of equilibrium among multiple sources of pressure and support; (3) institutional or administrative capacity to manage the pace, scale and dynamics of reform.     

Non-linear improvement in generic problem-solving skills of university students: a longitudinal study

ABSTRACT

Problem solving has been characterized as one of the ‘employability skills’ due to the high demand for such abilities in a modern workplace. Most universities do not monitor progress of the generic problem-solving skills (PSS) of their students due to a lack of available assessment tools. We used previously reported 15-min tests to measure the generic PSS of students over the first three years of university. More than 600 students participated in this study, including 144 who wrote PSS tests in Year 1 and then again in Year 3 of their studies. Two versions of the PSS test were administered in September and December of both years. We observed a non-linear increase in PSS test scores with a significant growth during the first three months of Year 1, a similar increase over the next 21 months, then no change during the first three months of Year 3. Further studies are necessary to pinpoint the instructional techniques and situational factors facilitating the PSS development of students over the first three years of studies. Moreover, the plateau we observe in the third year indicates that proactive steps by universities and individual instructors are required to advance this important skill set in upper-year students.     

Broadening the scope of scholarship: A suggested framework

Recent work by Ernest Boyer and others has prompted some colleges and universities to reexamine the nature of scholarship among faculty members. Using Boyer's categories of scholarly activity, the authors have developed a framework for scholarly contribution that is currently being implemented by faculty at DePaul University's School for New Learning. The proposed framework includes assumptions regarding scholarship, expectations for faculty relative to scholarly activity, and definitions and criteria for the four forms of scholarship. The authors offer the framework in the hope that it will stimulate a reexamination of the nature of scholarship at other institutions as well.The authors are a group of academic professionals comprised of faculty and academic advisors from the School for New Learning, DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. Morris Fiddler is an Associate Professor and received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. His primary research interests include adult learning and medical genetics. Susan McGury obtained her Ph.D. at the University of Reading and is an Assistant Professor with special research interests in art history and literature. Catherine Marienau is an Associate Professor and received her Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota. Her primary research interests are adult learning and women's development. Russell Rogers received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University and is an Associate Professor as well as serving as the Director of the M.A. Program in Integrated Professional Studies. His research specialties include higher education and organizational behavior. Warren Scheideman has an M.A. from DePaul University, and he serves as a Senior Academic Advisor. His research interests include pedagogy and adult learning.     

Identifying potential “dropouts” from college physics classes

Hudson and Rottman (1981) established that mathematics ability is probably a secondary factor influencing dropout from college physics courses. Other factors remain to be found for predicting who will drop out or at least have difficulty with the course. When mathematics ability is coupled with general indicators of performance (total GPA and ACT natural science), prediction of performance for those who complete the course is substantially improved. Moreover, discriminant analyses reveal who will have at least some difficulty, but not who will drop out. The problem of isolating specific weaknesses of students who have difficulty persists. Physics achievement appears to depend on mathematics ability only to the extent that students possess the ability to utilize mathematics knowledge for solving physics problems. Identification of the specific aspects of this ability as well as the specific deficiencies leading to dropout should be the object of future research. For the present, interviews might be more revealing than group testing methods.     

Quality criteria for conceptual technology integration models in education: bridging research and practice

Educational technology research and development - In order to effectively use technology in education, appropriate conceptual understandings are needed to guide the integration process. Today,...     

Incongruities as a source of organizational renewal in corporate management of R&D

The heydays of the central R&D laboratory as the ‘dominant design’ of corporate R&D in large technology-intensive companies is over. The last decades have witnessed not only downsizing of central R&D, but also ongoing experimentation and restructuring of the modes of managing corporate R&D. What is the logic behind these ongoing restructurings? The paper argues that different kinds of organizational incongruities constitute critical sources of change in the organization of R&D. The paper seeks to align a contingency and an evolutionary perspective in analyzing two Danish technology-intensive companies characterized by highly different organizational trajectories.     

Emerging issues concerning the future directions of Australian senior science education: The Queensland experience

Australia's changing political, social and economic agendas have triggered a critical analysis of school curriculum. Part of this consideration has been concern over the future of science education within the context of senior schooling. Following the completion of the Senior Science Future Directions Project commissioned by the Queensland Board of Senior Secondary School Studies, fifteen issues were identified. These issues, grouped by the needs of the science disciplines, society and the individual student, are discussed with the view of understanding the future design of senior science syllabuses. Specializations: biology teacher education, science curriculum development. Specializations: professional development, curriculum design and evaluation. Specializations: professional development, science teaching.