Translating Communication Measures for Use in Non-English-Speaking Populations

Research involving comparisons between English-speaking and non-English-speaking populations often includes a process of scale translation. The goals of translation of a psychosocial instrument from its original, source language (e.g., English) to another target language (e.g., Spanish) are to maintain denotative and connotative word meanings, and to ensure the source and target scales correctly measure the attributes of interest. This essay offers advice on some of the important issues related to the translation of instruments used in communication research. Specific concerns about various translation methods are addressed, and suggestions for assessing the semantic equivalence and translation invariance of scales are discussed.     

Merger in Higher Education: learning from Experiences

Political pressure to reduce the number of higher education institutions in Wales has been sustained for over a decade by three successive ministers for education, two of whom, Jane Davidson and the current incumbent, Leighton Andrews, have left the Welsh sector in no doubt about the strength of their personal commitment to the policy of reconfiguration and collaboration. In this paper, an attempt is made to understand and explain how this policy was experienced by some of the people most closely affected by the recent merger between the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the University of Glamorgan in South East Wales. Some of the lessons learned in this particular context are elucidated in the hope that they might be of assistance to both policy‐makers and members of higher education institutions elsewhere that are contemplating merger.     

PLANNING, ENACTMENT, AND REFLECTION IN INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING: VALIDATING THE MCGILL STRATEGIC DEMANDS OF INQUIRY QUESTIONNAIRE

Tools are needed to track the elements of students’ successful engagement in inquiry. The McGill Strategic Demands of Inquiry Questionnaire (MSDIQ) is a 79-item, criterion-referenced, learner-focused questionnaire anchored in Sch?n’s model and related models of self-regulated learning. The MSDIQ addresses three phases of inquiry engagement—planning, enactment, reflection—perceived as important by teachers, parents, and students before or after inquiry participation. Internal consistency and validity evidence was obtained from 205 university students with different inquiry backgrounds: teacher education years 1 and 4, continuing teacher education, and honors psychology. Separate confirmatory factor analyses of planning, enactment, and reflection generated 14 intercorrelated factors congruent with definitions of inquiry instruction and supported the hypothesized structure underlying the MSDIQ as a reliable and valid instrument for measuring inquiry engagement and valuing its building blocks.     

Combining Career and Couples Counseling for College Students: A Narrative Approach

Career and personal counseling have been dichotomized as distinct practices in much of the counseling literature. However, many college students seek counseling for career development and romantic relationship issues occurring concomitantly. A model for addressing career and relationship issues with heterosexual college couples in a group format is presented. An approach grounded in narrative theory is described, and case examples are provided to illustrate the model.     

Latino Adolescents’ Ethnic Identity: Is There a Developmental Progression and Does Growth in Ethnic Identity Predict Growth in Self‐Esteem?

The current longitudinal study of 323 Latino adolescents (50.5% male; M age = 15.31 years) examined whether ethnic identity exploration, resolution, and affirmation demonstrated significant growth over a 4-year period and whether growth in ethnic identity predicted growth in self-esteem. Findings from multiple-group latent growth curve models revealed that exploration, resolution, and affirmation all increased significantly from middle to late adolescence for Latina girls. For Latino boys, only affirmation increased significantly. Furthermore, only growth in exploration predicted growth in boys' and girls' self-esteem. This research indicates that patterns of growth in ethnic identity vary by adolescent sex. Furthermore, findings underscore the need to examine the unique contributions of each ethnic identity component, rather than using a composite ethnic identity score.     

Wrist-based cut-points for moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity for the Actical accelerometer in adults

Wrist-based accelerometers are increasingly used to assess physical activity (PA) in population-based studies; however, cut-points to translate wrist-based accelerometer counts into PA intensity categories are still needed. The purpose of this study was to determine wrist-based cut-points for moderate- and vigorous-intensity ambulatory PA in adults for the Actical accelerometer. Healthy adults (n = 24) completed a four-phase treadmill exercise protocol (1.9, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.2 mph) while wearing an Actical accelerometer on their wrist. Metabolic equivalent of task (MET) levels were assessed by indirect calorimetry. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves were generated to determine accelerometer counts that maximised sensitivity and specificity for classification of moderate (≥3 METs) and vigorous (>6 METs) ambulatory activity. The area under the ROC curves to discriminate moderate- and vigorous-intensity ambulatory activity were 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.90–0.97; P < 0.001) and 0.96 (95% CI: 0.94–0.99; P < 0.001), respectively. The identified cut-point for moderate-intensity ambulatory activity was 1031 counts per minute, which had a corresponding sensitivity and specificity of 85.6% and 87.5%, respectively. The identified cut-point for vigorous intensity ambulatory activity was 3589 counts per minute, which had a corresponding sensitivity and specificity of 88.0% and 98.7%, respectively. This study established intensity-specific cut-points for wrist-based wear of the Actical accelerometer which are recommended for quantification of moderate- and vigorous-intensity ambulatory activity.     

Mapping the margins and searching for higher ground: examining the marginalisation of black female graduate students at PWIs

The number of Black females enrolled in colleges and universities has grown in recent years, particularly at predominately white institutions (PWIs). Currently, research on the rise of Black females at PWIs is limited and fails to adequately address the emotional, social, and mental well-being of these students. Recent studies also largely ignore the critical roles that natural and formal Black female faculty play in serving as a buffer between Black female graduate students (BFGS) and PWIs more broadly. From a critical perspective using counter-narrative, we address the limitations of the scholarly literature on BFGS and other challenges faced by BFGS. We come to the disappointing – albeit unsurprising – conclusion that PWIs should do more to make the academy a welcoming place for BFGS, however, the ways in which PWIs function make support for BFGS unlikely. We conclude with a discussion about the implications of continued marginalisation of BFGS at PWIs for individuals, families, communities, disciplines, and for PWIs across the nation.     

Integrating Critical Approaches to Technology and Service-Learning Projects

Discussions of service learning emphasize opportunities for students to gain real world experience through work in community contexts. Less attention, however, has been given to the role of technology in these projects. Incorporating critical reflection on the rhetorical and social dimensions of technology throughout students' collaborations with clients can help to situate their practices within larger public contexts. This sort of reflection can encourage student engagement on a variety of levels: professional, rhetorical, intellectual, personal, and civic.     

Exploring Social Norms as a Framework to Understand Decisions to be Physically Active

In light of public health concerns surrounding the consequences of sedentary behavior and physical inactivity, exploring ways to encourage physically active lifestyles has become a critical concern for researchers. Social norms, conceptualized as how individuals perceive the beliefs and behaviors of significant others, have the potential to be a powerful influence on individuals. The investigation of social norms, initially grounded in theory of planned behavior, evolved to be the focal point of the focus theory of normative construct and the theory of normative social behavior. This more complex conceptualization of social norms provided insight into how perceptions of social norms influence decisions about health-related behaviors. The purpose of this review is to present social norm theories as a viable framework to investigate how environments can be structured to promote physical activity.     

From Silence to #WhyIStayed: Locating Our Stories and Finding Our Voices

Domestic violence is a serious public health issue in the United States. In the digital age, social media platforms like Twitter provide users with the opportunity to anonymously share short, 140-character narratives. Following the Ray Rice domestic violence scandal, thousands of women took to Twitter to share their abuse stories using the hashtag #WhyIStayed. Building on existing domestic violence research, we conduct what is, to our knowledge, the first assessment of women utilizing Twitter to share their lived experiences with abusive relationships and reasons for staying. Findings revealed four themes: (lack of) resources, responsibility for abuse, fear, and gender-linked power. The results suggest that Twitter functions as a space where women can share lived experiences about domestic violence, which then fosters discussion about a stigmatized topic. Thus, Twitter functions as a connective mechanism where women can understand the lived experiences of domestic violence and access a large community where information and support can be exchanged.