The effectiveness of cognitive control methods in the classroom: A one-year follow-up

Data are presented here from a one-year follow-up of school-age children who had received structure-based remediation techniques for demonstrated deficiencies in specific areas of cognitive control functioning. The significant improvement that had occurred in cognitive control functioning as a result of the cognitive intervention had been maintained one year following the discontinuation of these intervention strategies.     

Correlation of the PPVT and WISC-R: A function of diagnostic category

PPVT and WISC-R scores were compared for 259 students ranging in age from 6 to 16. In descending order, Pearson product correlations ranked best for the total sample, emotionally disabled, regular class, mentally retarded, and learning disabled. In all groups, the PPVT overestimated ability and was significantly different from the WISC-R scores as measured by correlated t-tests.     

Item wording and internal consistency of a measure of cohesion: the group environment questionnaire

A common practice for counteracting response acquiescence in psychological measures has been to employ both negatively and positively worded items. However, previous research has highlighted that the reliability of measures can be affected by this practice (Spector, 1992). The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect that the presence of negatively worded items has on the internal reliability of the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ). Two samples (N = 276) were utilized, and participants were asked to complete the GEQ (original and revised) on separate occasions. Results demonstrated that the revised questionnaire (containing all positively worded items) had significantly higher Cronbach alpha values for three of the four dimensions of the GEQ. Implications, alternatives, and future directions are discussed.     

Cognitive controls and reading disabilities revisited

This study attempts to replicate the findings of Santostefano, Rutledge, and Randell (1965), which demonstrated a relationship between the cognitive control called field articulation and reading disability in school-aged children. Two groups, reading disability and nonreading disability, were administered a series of cognitive control measures. The results confirm the findings of earlier studies that the cognitive control called field articulation is clearly implicated in the reading process. Performance on this control significantly differentiates between children who demonstrate reading disabilities and those who do not.     

Creating a more inclusive journal: the Journal of the Medical Library Association's evolving process for selecting editorial board members

The Journal of the Medical Library Association (JMLA) selects new editorial board members every year. In the spring of 2021, JMLA used a new process for reviewing and selecting applicants for the limited number of open editorial board positions. This reevaluation of the selection process was spurred by a desire to create a more diverse and representative board. Changes to the procedures for selecting new editorial board members included having an open call for editorial board members, creating an application form, creating a selection committee to screen applicants, creating a form for the selection committee to extract data from applications, and creating a two-step process for screening and then selecting board members. As part of construction of this new process, areas for continued improvement were also identified, such as refining the application form to allow more specific answers to areas of interest to the selection committee. The newly created selection process for editorial board members constitutes a significant change in JMLA processes; however, more can be done to build on this work by further refining the selection process and ensuring that new members are selected in a transparent and streamlined manner.     

Preparation time influences ankle and knee joint control during dynamic change of direction movements

The influence of preparation time on ankle joint biomechanics during highly dynamic movements is largely unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of limited preparation time on ankle joint loading during highly dynamic run-and-cut movements. Thirteen male basketball players performed 45°-sidestep-cutting and 180°-turning manoeuvres in reaction to light signals which appeared during the approach run. Both movements were executed under (1) an easy condition, in which the light signal appeared very early, (2) a medium condition and (3) a hard condition with very little time to prepare the movements. Maximum ankle inversion angles, moments and velocities during ground contact, as well as EMG signals of three lower extremity muscles, were analysed. In 180°-turning movements, reduced preparation time led to significantly increased maximum ankle inversion velocities. Muscular activation levels, however, did not change. Increased inversion velocities, without accompanying changes in muscular activation, may have the potential to destabilise the ankle joint when less preparation time is available. This may result in a higher injury risk during turning movements and should therefore be considered in ankle injury research and the aetiology of ankle sprains.     

New media environments’ comparative effects upon intercultural sensitivity: A five-dimensional analysis

An experimental 2 (channel) × 2 (gender) × 3 (time) mixed factorial design (N = 159) was applied to test and compare how individual dimensions of intercultural sensitivity might be affected by two channels: a virtual environment (i.e., Second Life^®) versus a Web environment. Using a modified version of Chen and Starosta's Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS), the study sought to identify which of the five ISS dimensions played the most influential role in intercultural sensitivity outcomes: interaction enjoyment, interaction engagement, interaction confidence, interaction attentiveness, or respect for cultural differences. Results showed that one's willingness and effort toward understanding an intercultural interaction – interaction attentiveness – played the greatest and most statistically significant role in intercultural sensitivity outcomes, and that this effect was greatest within the virtual environment channel. Gender effects were also found, in which men experienced greater enjoyment but women expressed more attentiveness.     

Boundary-Work in the Health Research Field: Biomedical and Clinician Scientists’ Perceptions of Social Science Research

Funding agencies in Canada are attempting to break down the organizational boundaries between disciplines to promote interdisciplinary research and foster the integration of the social sciences into the health research field. This paper explores the extent to which biomedical and clinician scientists’ perceptions of social science research operate as a cultural boundary to the inclusion of social scientists into this field. Results indicated that cultural boundaries may impede social scientists’ entry into the health research field through three modalities: (1) biomedical and clinician scientists’ unfavourable and ambivalent posture towards social science research; (2) their opposition to a resource increase for the social sciences; and (3) clinician scientists procedural assessment criteria for social science. The paper also discusses the merits and limitations of Tom Gieryn’s concept of boundary-work for studying social dynamics within the field of science.