Understanding systems theory: transition from equilibrium to entropy

What we call systems theory is more a metatheory than a monolithic theory. It has provided a set of common signposts for all systems theorists to follow. This paper, written from the perspective of communications scholarship, examines the transition of systems theory from the age of equilibrium to the age of entropy during the middle of the twentieth century, and then to the age of emergence at the end of the century. It distinguishes between the old equilibrium-based systems theory and the entropy-based systems theory, as well as the ‘new’ emergence-centered social systems theory. It asserts the existence of close similarities between the fundamental concepts of systems theory and Asian philosophies, despite the cynical dismissal of these similarities by a Luhmann disciple. It documents how media sociology has applied chaos theory to justify market-driven journalism and claim the emergence of a global public sphere; and it looks at the potential of network analysis, an offshoot of systems theory.     

Daily Intragroup Contact in Diverse Settings: Implications for Asian Adolescents' Ethnic Identity

This study examined the daily‐level association between contact with same‐ethnic others and ethnic private regard among 132 Asian adolescents (mean age = 14 years) attending four high schools ranging in ethnic composition diversity. The data suggest a positive daily‐level association between contact with same‐ethnic others and ethnic private regard for adolescents, who were highly identified with their ethnic group and who attended predominantly White or ethnically heterogeneous schools. In addition, using time lag analyses, contact with same‐ethnic others yesterday was positively related to ethnic private regard today, but ethnic private regard yesterday was unrelated to contact with same‐ethnic others today, suggesting that adolescents' identity is responsive to their environments. The implications of these findings for the development of ethnic identity are discussed.     

Financing public education in the southern states

A study of curriculum goals set forth in school-leaving examinations in mathematics and biology from Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia benchmarked against the French baccalaureat examinations. This investigation uncovers and contrasts the goals of secondary education as they are put forward in the tests that are used in the certification of completion of secondary studies in these countries. The work takes advantage of a metric developed for the Third International Mathematics and Science Study efforts to measure educational goals for school mathematics and science. Tests from the sample of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries are found to emphasize traditional content and the ability to recall and apply routine procedures and algorithms. These goals are contrasted with French school-leaving examinations and the implications of these findings for understanding and assessing curriculum policy in MENA, in a context of educational reform and the challenges of economic competiveness are considered.     

Intraseason changes in the body composition of collegiate female gymnasts

Body composition measures were collected pre‐, mid‐ and post‐season on a team of eight national‐calibre collegiate women gymnasts to examine intraseason changes. Also analysed were interseason changes using pre‐ and post‐season data on five of the eight subjects during the current and previous year, according to a 2 x 2 (years x tests) analysis of variance repeated‐measures design. Skinfold, circumference and diameter measures were collected with percentage body fat, lean body mass and body density determined by regression equations developed specifically for collegiate female gymnasts.

Intraseason body weight decreased significantly from pre‐ to mid‐season (x = 55.0 and 53.6 kg respectively); but the difference between mid‐ and post‐season (53.9 kg) values was not significant (P>0.05). The majority of the 1.4 kg weight loss occurred during intense pre‐season conditioning and not during the actual season. Percentage body fat, on the other hand, decreased significantly from pre‐to mid‐season and mid‐ to post‐season (x = 21.4%, 17.4% and 13.45% respectively; P<0.0005). Body density increased significantly from pre‐ to mid‐season and mid‐ to post‐season (x = 1.0476, 1.0584 and 1.0681 respectively; P<0.0005). Of the circumference and skinfold values used in calculating percentage body fat and body density, only the skinfold values displayed significant decreases throughout the season.

Interseason analyses revealed no significant changes in any of the dependent measures between seasons, despite consistent trends. There were no significant years x tests interactions and all intraseason changes for two seasons (n = 5) were the same as those found in more detailed analysis of a single season (n = 8) except in the case of weight loss, which was marginally significant (P < 0.046) in the single‐season and not in the dual‐season analysis (P>0.05).

Body composition of these gymnasts changed in many ways within competitive seasons. The most pronounced changes observed were decreases in subcutaneous fat and increases in body density. This study reinforces the need for administrators, coaches and athletes to be concerned with percentage body fat and skinfold measures rather than weight alone when determining if a person is ‘fat’.     

Finding possibilities in the impossible: a celebratory narrative of trans youth experiences in the Southeastern USA

Abstract

Using collective biographical narrative, this paper examines the ways in which school spaces – even in socioculturally and politically conservative locations – might serve to empower trans youth. The authors explore the ways that teacher, peer and curricular interactions enabled them to navigate a range of cultural spaces and arrive at authentic selves who advocate on behalf of trans youth.     

Defensive Behaviors in Infant Rhesus Monkeys: Ontogeny and Context-dependent Selective Expression

We examined the ontogeny of the infant rhesus monkey's defensive behaviors and the ability to modulate them in response to specific environmental cues. Rhesus infants in 4 age groups (N = 8 per group) were briefly separated from their mothers and tested under 3 conditions: alone, in the presence of a human who averted his gaze, and in the presence of a human staring at them. Infants as young as 0 to 2 weeks displayed defensive behaviors but did not selectively respond to the human's presence or direction of gaze. By 9 to 12 weeks of age, infants modulated their responses in relation to the parameters of the threat. At this age, infant rhesus monkeys undergo cognitive and emotional changes associated with brain development similar to those in human infants 7 to 12 months old. This also is the time when human infants engage in complex emotional and behavioral responses to threatening situations. Understanding the development and expression of defensive behaviors in infant monkeys should be applicable to similar issues in emotional development of human infants.     

Influences of social isolation during development on sexual behavior of the rat

Male and female rats were weaned at 14 days of age and raised in social isolation or with three other animals. At maturity the male isolates displayed less male sexual behavior than the socially reared Ss. Female isolates, after ovariectomy and injection with androgen, exhibited much less male sexual behavior than control females similarly tested. After being brought into estrus by injections of estrogen and progesterone, the female sexual behavior of female social and isolate Ss did not differ. Data were interpreted as indicating that social isolation during development deprives rats of critical experiences necessary for development of appropriate responses to social stimuli eliciting male copulatory behavior in both sexes.     

Regulatory Contributors to Children's Kindergarten Achievement

The present study sought to examine whether preschool children's emotion regulation, problem behaviors, and kindergarten behavioral self-regulation in the classroom were predictors of kindergarten achievement scores. The children (N = 122, 47% male and 63% European American) who were participating in an ongoing longitudinal study, were seen at both a preschool and kindergarten assessment. The present study examined the relation between parent report, teacher report, and laboratory measures of regulation and children's achievement test scores. Children's emotion regulation and behavioral self-regulation in the classroom were related to all measures of achievement. The relation between preschool emotion regulation and kindergarten achievement was mediated by behavioral self-regulation in the kindergarten classroom. In addition, all measures of regulation were correlated, suggesting that some children who have difficulty regulating their behavior in one setting (such as home) may also have difficulty with regulation in other settings (such as school).