Technical Communication Teachers as Mentors in the Classroom: Extending an Invitation to Students

In this article, we argue that mentoring of technical communication students must occur within the classroom. In our survey of students, we found that most students felt they had not been mentored. In our ethnography, we found that although students could define the term “mentor”, many were conflicted about its value. This confusion made students less likely to seek out or recognize mentoring opportunities. Students recognized mentoring practices that teachers implemented; however, they did not necessarily identify those practices as “mentoring”. We conclude that confusion arose from students' ambiguous views about mentoring and the lack of standard mentoring practices in the humanities. Therefore, teachers who intend to mentor in the classroom must (a) be more explicit in implementing elements that distinguish mentoring from teaching (e.g., intent and involvement), (b) extend an invitation to students to be mentored, and (c) help students develop a professional identity.     

Children's understanding of psychogenic bodily reactions

One hundred twenty-eight children in preschool through fifth grade (range = 4,3-11,4) and 76 adults serving as a comparison group participated in two studies that examined how children reason about psychogenic bodily reactions, that is, ailments or nonconscious physiological responses with origins in the mind (e.g., stress-induced headache). Psychogenic bodily reactions provide an opportunity to study how children integrate knowledge between the domains of bodily response and psychology. In Study 1, participants were asked whether various familiar psychogenic bodily reactions were possible (e.g., can someone get a tummyache from worrying?). In Study 2, participants were presented with a novel domain (hypothetical "aliens" from outer space) and were asked whether various unfamiliar bodily conditions (e.g., toes swelling) could arise from various physical or psychological causes. As predicted, adults typically reported that psychogenic bodily reactions were possible, and that unfamiliar bodily conditions could result from either psychological or physical causes. In contrast, young children typically denied that psychogenic bodily reactions could occur and predicted that unfamiliar bodily conditions resulted from physical causes only. The results support a developmental path: younger children view psychogenic bodily responses as wholly physical, but with age, view them as both physical and psychological phenomena.     

Clinical features of survivors of sexual abuse with major depression.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined differences in rates of trauma-related disorders between patients with histories of childhood sexual abuse and those without such histories in a sample of depressed outpatients. Another aim of this study was to determine whether childhood sexual abuse is associated with recent suicidal attempts, affect dysregulation and duration of index depressive episode, independent of posttraumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder. METHOD: Subjects were 235 treatment-seeking outpatients with major depression. Structured interviews were administered to assess for Axis I and Axis II disorders, childhood sexual abuse, and various clinical features. RESULTS: Patients with sexual abuse compared to those without sexual abuse histories had higher rates of comorbidity, primarily borderline personality disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder and multiple Axis I diagnoses. Childhood sexual abuse status was linked to a longer duration of the index depressive episode, independent of borderline personality disorder and/or posttraumatic stress disorder. However, childhood sexual abuse status was not independently related to affect dysregulation and suicidal attempts. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that patients with histories of sexual abuse represent a subgroup of depressed patients who are at especially high risk for psychiatric morbidity and a prolonged episode of depression.     

An exploratory usability evaluation of Colorado State University Libraries' digital collections and the Western Waters Digital Library Web sites

In an exploratory study, participants (n = 18) completed 11 usability tasks to assess ease of use of two Web sites, and then a Web site perception questionnaire for each. Participants rated both Web sites positively, but 25% and 36% could not complete all tasks; doing so required more than a minute to complete.     

Racial identity,maternal support,and psychological distress among African American adolescents

This study investigated the role of racial identity and maternal support in reducing psychological distress among African American adolescents. Both direct and indirect influences of multiple dimensions of racial identity (i.e., centrality, private regard) and maternal support on perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety were examined among 521 African American twelfth graders. Findings indicated that maternal support was positively related to both centrality and private regard. Results provided little support for a direct association between racial identity or maternal support and depressive symptoms and anxiety within a multivariate context. Rather, the influences of racial identity attitudes and maternal support on these mental health outcomes were mediated by perceived stress. Further, the two racial identity attitudes were associated with perceived stress in different ways. Study findings suggest that the significance and meaning that African American adolescents attribute to being Black may be critical to their psychological well-being, and that maternal support and perceived stress are important considerations.