Low-Income Minority Seniors' Enrollment in a Cybercafé: Psychological Barriers to Crossing the Digital Divide

Investigated were why some low income, predominantly immigrant seniors (n = 91) choose to enroll in free training and start to use computers and the Internet while others choose not to enroll. The study was conducted in collaboration with a senior center in downtown Los Angeles that provides free Internet access and training to its seniors. The results suggest that psychological variables (e.g., computer anxiety, computer self-efficacy, and aging anxiety) are stronger predictors of older adults' enrollment than their age or actual experience in using computers. Discussed are ways to motivate seniors to participate in computer training by reducing potential barriers.     

What can Learning Styles Research Learn from Cognitive Psychology?

People differ from each other in the manner in which they process information from the world. These individual differences are called learning styles’. The purpose of this paper is to explore how research in this field can benefit from certain findings in cognitive psychology. Following a review of some difficulties which afflict research on learning styles (e.g. inadequate construct validation of measures), attention is drawn to two relevant findings in cognitive research: the influence of prior knowledge on learning and the potential value to learners of ‘metacognitive’ awareness. Some implications of these findings for learning styles research are then discussed.     

The effects of limb dominance and a short term,high intensity exercise protocol on both landings of the vertical drop jump: implications for the vertical drop jump as a screening tool

The effectiveness of vertical drop jumps (VDJs) to screen for non-contact ACL injuries is unclear. This may be contributed to by discrete point analysis, which does not evaluate patterns of movement. Also, limited research exists on the second landing of VDJs, potential lower limb performance asymmetries and the effect of fatigue. Statistical parametric mapping investigated the main effects of landing, limb dominance and a high intensity, intermittent exercise protocol (HIIP) on VDJ biomechanics. Twenty-two male athletes (21.9 ± 1.1 years, 180.5 ± 5.5 cm, 79.4 ± 7.8 kg) performed VDJs pre- and post-HIIP. Repeated measures ANOVA identified pattern differences during the eccentric phases of the first and second landings bilaterally. The first landing displayed greater (internal) knee flexor (η² = 0.165), external rotator (η² = 0.113) and valgus (η² = 0.126) moments and greater hip (η² = 0.062) and knee (η² = 0.080) flexion. The dominant limb generated greater knee flexor (η² = 0.062), external rotator (η² = 0.110) and valgus (η² = 0.065) moments. The HIIP only had one effect, increased thoracic flexion relative to the pelvis (η² = 0.088). Finally, the dominant limb demonstrated greater knee extensor moments during the second landing (η² = 0.100). ACL injury risk factors were present in both landings of VDJs with the dominant limb at potentially greater injury risk. Therefore, VDJ screenings should analyse both landings bilaterally.     

成都草堂拜谒"诗圣"

多少年来一直想去杜甫草堂这个文学圣地拜谒“诗圣”,然而由于方方面面的原因未能成行。直到最近,当我浪迹天涯几十年之后回到四川故乡,终于了结这个夙愿。一大早起来,便兴冲冲驱车向草堂赶去。从四川崇州驱车80公里来到杜甫草堂,首先映入眼帘的是一条弯弯环环宛若玉带的溪流。     

The Effect of Prime Time Television Ethnic/Racial Stereotypes on Latino and Black Americans: A Longitudinal National Level Study

Much is known about the negative consequences of exposure to ethnic/racial stereotypes in the media, on White audiences. However, there is substantially less research addressing the effects of such media content on members of racial/ethnic minority groups. The present study examines this question using repeated cross-sectional national level data alongside a content analysis of top prime time shows between 1987 and 2008. Multi-level modeling analyses reveal that media representations of Latinos and Blacks were associated with Latinos’ and Blacks’ ingroup attitudes, however effects on attitudes towards Whites were not significant.     

Sexual abuse in young children: its clinical presentation and characteristic patterns

A retrospective record survey was performed using all child clients aged less than 7 years seen at a community mental health center during the period 1982-1984. The total number of 202 children fell into three groups: sexually abused (n = 37), physically abused (n = 35), and nonabused clinical children (n = 130). These groups were compared in order to learn more about sexual abuse in young children. Family background of both abused groups were similar to each other but differed from the nonabused group in having more factors related to family stress than the nonabused group. Clinical presentations of all the children overlapped a great deal symptomatically; however, the sexually abused children had a statistically significant higher frequency of inappropriate sexual behavior than the other two groups. Several characteristics of the abusive patterns suffered by the two abuse groups differed at or near statistical significance: sexually abused children were more often victimized in single acts by nonrelated child perpetrators than were physically abused children.     

An Evaluation of a Children's Safety Training Programme

This paper reports an experimental evaluation of a children's safety training programme,Kidscape, which aims to increase primary school children's ability to deal with four types of potentially unsafe situation: being bullied, being approached by a stranger, being subject to inappropriate intimacy from a known adult and to pressure from such adults to keep such intimacy secret. Assessments of children's safety awareness were carried out in three schools which used the programme, and in three matched control schools which did not, with children at two age levels, 6 years and 10 years. These assessments of children's awareness were made on three occasions: before, immediately after and 2‐3 months after the training programme for the experimental sample (60 children) and on corresponding occasions for the control sample (60 children). The results revealed a significant improvement in the safety awareness of the experimental (trained) group after training and also a significant difference between the groups, in favour of the trained group. However, an improved performance of the control (untrained) group suggests that factors other than the Kidscape programme itself may influence these differences. Age differences in children's wariness of the four safety situations are also discussed.     

Thinking in action: Some insights from cognitive sport psychology

Historically, cognitive researchers have largely ignored the domain of sport in their quest to understand how the mind works. This neglect is due, in part, to the limitations of the information processing paradigm that dominated cognitive psychology in its formative years. With the emergence of the embodiment approach to cognition, however, sport has become a dynamic natural laboratory in which to investigate the relationship between thinking and skilled action. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore some insights into the relationship between thinking and action that have emerged from recent research on exceptional performance states (e.g., ‘flow’ and ‘choking’) in athletes. The paper begins by explaining why cognitive psychologists’ traditional indifference to sport has been replaced by a more enthusiastic attitude in recent years. The next section provides some insights into the relationship between thinking and skilled action that have emerged from research on ‘flow’ (or peak performance) and ‘choking’ (or impaired performance) experiences in athletes. The third section of the paper explores some practical issues that arise when athletes seek to exert conscious control over their thoughts in competitive situations. The final part of the paper considers the implications of research on thinking in action in sport for practical attempts to improve thinking skills in domains such as business organizations and schools.