Useful terms in psychoeducational reports: A survey of students,teachers, and psychologists

The usefulness of terminology in psychoeducational reports is examined. Students, teachers, and psychology interns rated the usefulness of 25 terms frequently found in reports. Psychology interns also rated each term on the frequency with which they used it in their own reports. Significant differences were found in the usefulness ratings of the terms, depending on major, category, and whether or not the rater had taken a special education course. Special education majors were found to be more comfortable with technical terms than were students who had prepared to be regular classroom teachers or students in other majors. Findings suggest that it is necessary to use clear, unambiguous terms in reports, and to explain more technical terms in context.     

Self-regulation of timeout duration in the modification of disruptive classroom behavior

The effects of self-determination vs. teacher-determination of timeout duration on disruptive behavior were investigated in a group of 15 students in a special classroom who had learning disabilities and/or behavior problems. There were five phases to the study: In a repeated measures design each subject received timeout for 5 minutes, no timeout, 5 minutes timeout, selfdetermined timeout duration, and student = teacher-determined timeout duration. The overall effect of timeout was to reduce significantly the rate of disruptive behavior. The effects of various timeout conditions did not differ, indicating self-management of timeout duration was just as effective as when the teacher set the timeout duration.     

Ending the perpetuation of sex-role stereotypes in our schools: A possible consequence of psychological androgyny

Research has shown that both historically and currently there has been sex-differentiated staffing in American public schools, with a disproportionate number of female teachers at the elementary level. Concern long has been expressed regarding the impact this might have on the sex-role development of American children and the perpetuation of stereotypic staffing patterns. This article supports the hypothesis that psychologically androgynous individuals might be more likely than masculine or feminine individuals to base teaching level choice upon individual preference without regard for its stereotype as more appropriate for one sex than the other. Data collected from preservice teachers at Washington State University support this hypothesis. It was found that while feminine females were more apt to choose the elementary teaching level, masculine males were more apt to choose secondary teaching. In comparison, androgynous preservice teachers of both sexes were as likely to choose the elementary as secondary teaching level.     

Experiences of Danish Business Expatriates in Russia: Power Distance in Organizational Communication

Rapid globalization of business processes stimulates many companies to dispatch their employees – business expatriates – on overseas assignments. Russia differs markedly from many other cultures in terms of specific communication norms and rules. Understanding such differences in organizational life is crucial for the success of business expatriates working there. This study employs in-depth interviews with eight Danish business expatriates who worked in Russia and examines the differences between the Danes and the Russians in terms of communication characteristics related to Hofstede’s cultural dimension power distance. This work enhances scholars’ empirical knowledge of power distance, which has rarely been investigated qualitatively.     

Geographic clustering of economic activity: The case of prominent western visual artists

This article compiles original data relating to artists’ place of birth and work migration patterns using various art history dictionaries. The broad historic pattern, from the 13th to the 20th century, of the birth locations of prominent artists is examined, followed by a detailed study of the work migration patterns of prominent artists in two important situations, namely Renaissance Italy and France in part of the 19th century. The evidence indicates a marked clustering of activity of prominent artists, both arising from birth location and migration patterns. Some possible explanations for the observed patterns are briefly outlined.

Correlations between serum and salivary hormonal concentrations in response to resistance exercise

The aim of present study was to examine the relationships between serum and salivary values of free testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, and cortisol before and after a session of resistance exercise. Twenty-eight healthy men (mean age 40 years, s = 4) participated in the present study. Serum and salivary samples were collected at rest and after a multiple-sets resistance exercise protocol, of approximately 25 minutes duration. Concentrations of free testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, and cortisol were measured using radioimmunoassay kits. No significant correlation was observed between serum free testosterone and salivary testosterone (r = 0.22 to 0.26, P > 0.05). Serum cortisol was significantly correlated with salivary cortisol before (r = 0.52, P = 0.005) and after (r = 0.62, P = 0.001) the exercise protocol. Serum and salivary concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone were significantly correlated before (r = 0.68, P < 0.001) and after (r = 0.7, P < 0.001) exercise. The results of the present study suggest that even under exercise conditions, the salivary values of cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone can reflect the behaviour of these hormones in blood. However, further studies are necessary to verify if salivary testosterone reflects the behaviour of serum free testosterone during resistance exercise.     

Exploring the effects of substituting basketball players in high-level teams

Substituting basketball players during competition is a key process to optimise collective performance. Available research on this topic is scarce, probably due to the difficulty in isolating these effects; thus, the aim of this study was to identify the temporal effects of substitutions in basketball (Spanish professional basketball league). The sample was composed of 1118 substitutions gathered from 21 basketball games. The analysed variables were coach-controlled (player and team’s personal fouls, player in and player out roles, player’s in and out minutes on-court and timeout situation); on-court (foul committed, free throws, 2- and 3-point field-goal effectiveness) and situational variables (scoreline, quality of opposition, game location and game quarter). The results showed positive scoring performances after the substitution for all the analyses. During the first quarter, there were significant effects for fouls committed, scoreline and game location after the substitution. The player’s out personal fouls, free-throw effectiveness, player in, minutes on-court player in, timeout situation and 3-point field-goal effectiveness were significant during the second quarter. The team’s personal fouls, game location, and scoreline were identified as important in the third quarter. The fourth quarter did not show significant effects on the independent variables. Current findings allow optimising coaches’ plans and team management of on-court and bench players throughout the game.     

Improved children’s motor learning of the basketball free shooting pattern by associating subjective error estimation and extrinsic feedback

This study aimed at assessing the interaction between subjective error estimation and frequency of extrinsic feedback in the learning of the basketball free shooting pattern by children. 10- to 12-year olds were assigned to 1 of 4 groups combining subjective error estimation and relative frequency of extrinsic feedback (33% × 100%). Analysis of performance was based on quality of movement pattern. Analysis showed superior learning of the group combining error estimation and 100% feedback frequency, both groups receiving feedback on 33% of trials achieved intermediate results, and the group combining no requirement of error estimation and 100% feedback frequency had the poorest learning. Our results show the benefit of subjective error estimation in association with high frequency of extrinsic feedback in children’s motor learning of a sport motor pattern.