Haunting Masculinity and Frightening Femininity: The Novels of John Bellairs

While developing scholarship around children’s horror fiction has focused on the works of contemporary writers, this essay provides a close reading of the novels of John Bellairs, a leading and early practitioner of the genre. It argues that the first three novels in his Lewis Barnevelt series may be understood as addressing some of the same anxieties related to gender and sexuality as those found in adult works of horror. Echoing changing discourses about masculinity at work in the late sixties and seventies, Bellair’s novels propose a new form of manhood for young readers at the same time they continue to tie femininity to loss, lack and unspeakable desires.     

Contributions of Maternal Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity and Oppositional Defiant Disorder Symptoms to Parenting

Objective. The goal of the current study was to examine the impact of maternal attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms on several dimensions of parenting. Design. One-hundred seven mothers of young adolescents provided ratings of their own attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, depressive symptoms, and parenting behavior, as well as their adolescents’ aggressive behaviors. Results. Hierarchical regression analyses examined the relative contributions of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms to parenting. Greater levels of maternal attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptomatology were associated with poorer monitoring, whereas more oppositional defiant disorder symptoms were associated with lower levels of parenting involvement and positive reinforcement and higher levels of overreactivity and use of corporal punishment. Conclusions. Maternal oppositional defiant disorder behaviors were particularly associated with negative, affective dimensions of parenting. Understanding the impact of maternal attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms on parenting may require consideration of concomitant maternal oppositional defiant disorder symptoms.     

WIAT subtest and composite predicted-achievement values based on WISC-III verbal and performance IQs

Critical values tables for determining significant differences between Wechsler IQs and WIAT subtests and composites based on a predicted-achievement method are provided in the WIAT manual for the Full Scale IQ and have been constructed recently for Verbal and Performance IQs (Flanagan & Alfonso, 1993). In order to use these tables, however, a predicted achievement score(s) is required. The process of calculating predicted-achievement scores is time-consuming and may result in errors, especially when more than one ability-achievement comparison is warranted. The present paper provides tables of WIAT subtest and composite predicted-achievement standard scores based on WISC-III Verbal and Performance IQs. These tables allow examiners to determine quickly ability-achievement discrepancies based on WISC-III Verbal or Performance IQs when they are used in conjunction with the critical values tables provided in our earlier article. These tables are most useful for the accurate assessment and diagnosis of learning disabilities.     

A Typology of News Sourcing: Routine and Non-Routine Channels of Production

ABSTRACT

This article presents a novel typology for analysing the routinisation of news and daily newsroom practices. Drawing inspiration from the work of Sigal, Tuchman and others, the framework—comprising eight categories—provides a reconceptualisation of routine and non-routine channels of news production to facilitate an exploration of source material, focusing on initial story triggers. One contribution which is particularly useful relates to the subcategorisation of the traditionally singular “routine” channel; although the broad concept of routine source material is familiar, it has generally not been systematically deconstructed in previous analyses. Considering different types of routine news allows for a deeper understanding of how these channels are integrated into contemporary daily news production and the role of internal newsroom and external actor dynamics. This is particularly relevant in an era in which there is a high usage of information subsidies, passive news reporting, cannibalised content, and desk-bound work. As such, the application of this model provides insights into the dominance and subordinate use of various channels in contemporary newsrooms. The discussion also illustrates how such a typology can aid empirical research with reference to the content analysis study from which this framework was developed.     

Teacher expectations on the directiveness continuum in consultation

The study investigated the consultation approaches of collaborative‐directive and collaborative‐nondirective and the influence of teacher expectations for consultation on their ratings of consultation success. Teachers viewed videotaped consultation sessions of a collaborative‐directive or collaborative‐nondirective consultation session that either matched or mismatched their expectations. The study found significantly higher ratings for the consultants and interventions when the collaborative‐directive approach was used. In addition, teachers in conditions that matched their expectations for consultation rated consultants and interventions significantly higher than did teachers in mismatched conditions. The importance of this line of research lies in its practical application, allowing practitioners of consultation and trainers of school psychologists greater knowledge in selection of the appropriate consultation approach to maximize perceived consultant effectiveness and intervention acceptability. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Using wikis to promote quality learning in teacher training

This paper discusses writing as a social practice and speculates on how wikis might be used to promote higher quality academic writing and support collaborative learning. This study of undergraduate teacher trainees’ online learning activities focuses on how shared spaces – wikis – might be used to communicate ideas and generate course‐specific content. The study also explored how students, through such activities, were able to improve their academic writing skills and engage more critically in learning. Data captured from student discussion boards and a post‐module email questionnaire (n = 35) were used to map student perceptions of the usefulness of wikis in support of their academic studies. The data indicate that most students raised their skill level in writing directly to the publicly viewable wiki space, in sharp contrast to the more informal content they posted on the discussion boards. The scope of collaborative writing was limited due to students’ reluctance to edit each others’ work, but students appreciated the shared environment as a means of discussing their work and the content of the course. Students reported that their academic writing skills had improved through their formal participation in the wiki.     

Relevance of electronic resource management systems to hiring practices for electronic resources personnel

Requirements for electronic resource positions in libraries advertised between the years 2000 and 2008 are reviewed and analyzed according to how they relate to developments in electronic resource management tools and standards taking place during the associated time periods. The research reveals that the job requirements for electronic resource personnel have not changed significantly over these years, despite overwhelming changes in quantity of material and quality of system resources and despite the recommendations of the Digital Library Federation's Electronic Resource Management Initiative documentation, which is used as a focal point for this study.