Planning Intercultural Interaction: Extending Anxiety/Uncertainty Management Theory

This article responds critically to a recent article by Lemieux and Tighe (Communication Research Reports, 21, 144–153, 2004) in which the authors conclude that recipients of comforting efforts prefer messages that exhibit a moderate rather than high level of person centeredness. It is argued that an erroneous assumption made by Lemieux and Tighe about the status of “receiver perspective” research on the comforting process led to faulty interpretations of the data and unwarranted conclusions about recipient preferences regarding comforting messages. Alternative interpretations of Lemieux and Tighe's data are presented; these are guided by the extensive previous research that has assessed evaluations and outcomes of comforting messages.     

America,America: National Identity,Presidential Debates,and National Mood

In their public messages, United States politicians often invoke America in an attempt to unite citizens and build electoral coalitions. Such an emphasis is particularly common in presidential debates, which are climactic “media events” late in campaigns for the White House, when candidates take questions from journalists and citizens while addressing millions of voters. We analyzed the connection between (a) candidates' highlighting of national identity in presidential debates and (b) mass public opinion since 1960. We expected and found that (a) candidates increased their emphasis on the nation during times of heightened national uncertainty, (b) Democratic presidential candidates invoked the nation more often than Republican candidates, and (c) comparisons across elections among incumbents suggest that national uncertainty was more important than partisan identity in eliciting invocations of the nation.     

Productive engagements with student difference: Supporting equity through cultural recognition

In this paper, the focus is on how a group of Australian educators support student equity through cultural recognition. Young's theorising of justice is drawn on to illuminate the problematic impacts arising from the group's efforts to value students’ cultural difference associated, for example, with quantifying justice along distributive lines and with essentialising student difference as negation and lack within a frame of cultural imperialism. These theoretical tools draw attention to, and support a critical examination of, the social rules and relations within the school that create barriers to equity. Towards reconciling discrepancies relating to how student difference might best be supported, the paper endorses the prevailing imperative of centring students’ perspectives and experiences. Such centring remains crucial to educators recognising the partiality and interest within their attempts to ‘help’ marginalised students and disrupting the relations of teacher privilege and authority that reinscribe domination, control and exclusion.     

Variation in children's classroom engagement throughout a day in preschool: Relations to classroom and child factors

This study examined sources of variability in preschool children's positive and negative engagement with teachers, peers, and tasks, and how that variability was related to both classroom activity settings (e.g., teacher-structured time, outdoor time, transitions) and child factors (age, gender). Participants were 283 socioeconomically and linguistically diverse children drawn from 84 classrooms, 34–63 months old (M = 50.8, SD = 6.5). Each child's engagement was observed and rated multiple times within a single day. Results suggested that children's engagement varied significantly across the preschool day. Activity settings that provided children with a greater degree of choice (free choice and outdoor time) were associated with more positive engagement with peers and tasks, while teacher-structured activities were associated with more positive engagement with teachers. Transitions emerged as a difficult part of the day, associated with less positive engagement with teachers and tasks. Older children were rated higher on peer and task engagement. These findings, together with previous research, suggest that both characteristics of the classroom setting and child factors are associated with children's classroom engagement throughout a day in preschool.     

Juggling personal life and professionalism: Ethical implications for rural school psychologists

Rural communities often contain unique features that separate them from more urban communities. Although a body of research is devoted to ethical considerations for psychologists working in rural communities as a whole, much less current research is focused on working in rural schools. This paper specifically highlights ethical considerations regarding competence, multiple relationships, and confidentiality. Given that access to services within the community may be limited, school psychologists may encounter cases that are outside of their area of competence. Furthermore, due to the interconnectedness present in many rural communities, psychologists frequently have multiple relationships with those whom they have professional contact. Confidentiality may be compromised when families and school personnel also have multiple relationships. These factors must be considered by psychologists working in rural schools, and steps must be taken at the outset of practice to ensure ethical compliance. More specific means of obtaining this compliance are discussed in this paper.     

Early childhood education and care educators supporting parent-child relationships: a systematic literature review

Building strong relationships between children and parents is vital for children’s social and emotional development. A majority of children attend early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings where they experience a range of relationships (educator–child, educator–parent, parent–child). Educators build relationships with children and parents, yet their influence on parent–child relationships is not well understood. Therefore, an evaluation of interventions/programs designed to promote parent–child relationships in ECEC settings (long day care, occasional care and preschool) and a range of settings (play groups, community groups and health centres) was conducted. The search revealed 21 peer-reviewed studies and seven interventions: two conducted in ECEC settings and five in a range of parent–child support settings. All studies reported intervention efficacy, yet none examined educators’ influence on parent–child relationships. Investigation into current educator practices is recommended to ensure educators are supported to promote and nurture parent–child relationships, consequently strengthening children’s social and emotional development.     

Teacher perceptions of facilitators and barriers to implementing classroom physical activity breaks

Abstract

Physical activity plays an important role in childhood development and is associated with positive health, social, emotional, and academic benefits. Despite this, children are often sedentary for most of their school day and fail to meet daily activity recommendations. Incorporating physical activity breaks into the classroom can achieve many positive outcomes, however has not been widely adopted. This study used the diffusion of innovation theory as a framework to examine teacher perceptions of barriers and facilitators to incorporating physical activity breaks into their elementary classrooms. Teachers perceived compatibility with teaching philosophy and observability of benefits to most students as strong facilitators. They struggled to reconcile relative advantage and trailability, primarily due to classroom management issues associated with just a few students. Lack of complexity facilitated implementation, however upper grade teachers felt a strong need to connect activity to academics which threatened complexity. The authors conclude with recommendations to increase adoption.     

The rhetoric of auscultation: Corporeal sounds,mediated bodies,and abortion rights

This essay argues that corporeal sound, including the spoken voice and the auscultated heartbeat, can be understood as material rhetoric, and that material rhetoric, by extension, should be understood as both a force and a networked fluid. I illustrate this argument through the case study of abortion practices and policies, arguing that both mandated heartbeat auscultation and physician speech-and-display provisions represent the forceful fluidity of material rhetoric and demonstrate the power of such rhetoric to carve out networks of meaning. Through this networking, sound’s material role in defining autonomy takes on a powerful role in debates over fetal personhood.     

An Examination of College Counselors' Work With Student Sex Addiction: Training,Screening, and Referrals

Given the prevalence of sex addiction (SA) among collegiate populations, the authors designed this study to examine college counselors' training in SA, use of formal assessments, and referrals to support groups. Results indicated that 84.4% of college counselors (N = 77) had at least one client present with SA‐related issues in the past year. Findings suggest the need for improvement in counselor training in SA, use of formal assessments, and referral practices.