Infant stress and parent responsiveness: regulation of physiology and behavior during still-face and reunion

This study examined infant response and recovery from a social challenge and parent responses. Behavioral and physiological responses were measured from forty-three 5- and 6-month-olds infants during a modified still-face procedure that used an additional still-face reunion sequence. Results confirm the hypothesis that infants of more responsive parents show more regulation than infants of less responsive parents. Infants of more responsive parents showed greater regulation of heart rate and negative affect during the final episode of the procedure than infants of less responsive parents. In addition, this procedure elicited a cortisol response (from .22 microg/dl to .31 microg/dl). Findings suggest important links between parent behavior and infant stress reactivity and regulation.     

Expanding the conceptual and empirical boundaries of family communication patterns: The development and validation of an Expanded Conformity Orientation Scale

Family communication patterns theory (FCPT) explores how family members communicate to create a shared social reality via conversation and conformity orientations. Recently, scholars have noted that the current conceptualization and operationalization of conformity orientation is unnecessarily narrow in scope by representing conformity as controlling and repressive, rather than as cultivating homogenous attitudes, beliefs, and values among family members. To address these concerns, we tested the factor structure of the most common measure in FCPT research, the Revised Family Communication Patterns scale (Study One). Based on theoretical and methodological concerns that emerged from Study One, we then created and validated a new scale in Study Two – the Expanded Conformity Orientation Scale (ECOS). Findings from Study Two demonstrated concurrent and discriminant validity. Implications for the use of the ECOS in future studies are discussed.     

Longitudinal relations among economic deprivation,work volition,and academic satisfaction: a psychology of working perspective

International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance - Using the Psychology of Working Theory as a guide, the goal of this study was to examine the longitudinal relations of economic...     

Returning to rural origins after higher education: gendered social space

This study is important for rural actors interested in developing recruitment and retention strategies directed towards attracting the tertiary educated to rural areas. The aim of this study is to examine the demographic characteristics and economic and cultural resources that have the greatest influence on a tertiary educated individual of rural origin returning to a rural area after higher education. Gender-divided binary logistic regression is used to examine the influence of an individual’s social space position (i.e. their economic and cultural resources and demographic background) on returning to rural areas. Through the use of Bourdieu’s concept ‘social space’, this paper contributes an alternative perspective to the study of students’ destinations after higher education, which has been dominated by economic perspectives. The results indicate that while there are social space characteristics common to men and women that increase their probability of a rural return, there are gender differences in the degree of influence of many of these characteristics.     

Narrated Dissection Videos and Peer-Mentoring to Enhance Anatomy Performance of Underrepresented Minority Students in Physical Therapy Education

Three-dimensional virtual technology (3DVT) educational tools and peer-tutoring have proven to be effective teaching strategies in improving student learning outcomes. The purpose of this study was threefold: (1) compare the anatomy academic performance between underrepresented minority (URM) and non-minority (non-URM) students, (2) compare the voluntary use of 3DVT dissection videos and peer-mentoring between these two cohorts, and (3) estimate the association between the use of these teaching strategies on anatomy examinations and course grades at a school of physical therapy. Three-dimensional virtual technology narrated dissection videos and peer-mentoring were made available to all students. Time accessing the video and attending peer-mentoring sessions was measured throughout the course for all students. Three practical and four written examinations and the final course grade were calculated. Numerous one-way ANOVAs were used to compare examination/course grades between student cohorts (URM and non-URM) and usage of the two educational strategies (3DVT and peer-mentoring). Multiple linear regressions were performed with teaching strategies as predictors and grades as outcomes. Underrepresented minority students demonstrated significantly lower practical examination scores (P = 0.04), lower final course grades (P = 0.01), and a greater use of mentorship hours (P = 0.001) compared to non-URM. The regression models with both predictors (3DVT and peer-mentoring) combined demonstrated the greatest association with grades for both URM and non-URM. For both groups of students, the association between predictors and practical examination scores, although fair, was not statistically significant. Peer-mentoring seems to be the most effective teaching strategy in helping URM students succeed in anatomy.     

The Communication Privacy Management of Adopted Individuals in Their Social Networks: Disclosure Decisions in Light of the Discourse of Biological Normativity

Although adoptees are often stigmatized for their nonnormative identity, adopted individuals must communicate with nonfamily members to integrate their adoptive identity into their definition of self. In the current study, adult adoptees (n = 25) were interviewed about their processes for disclosing their adoptive status in their social networks. Drawing upon communication privacy management (CPM) theory, inductive analyses demonstrated that adoptees created motivational and contextual criteria to enact privacy rules surrounding adoption. Adoptees maintained privacy to avoid messages of “difference,” insensitive comments, imperviousness, and negative opinions about adoption. Adoptees disclosed about their adoption to build relational closeness and to educate/advocate for adoption. These privacy decisions were undergirded by the societal assumption that families are biologically linked or the discourse of biological normativity (Suter et al., 2014).     

Designing out barriers to student access and participation in secondary school assessment

In an effort to support student agency in assessment, teachers seek to provide detailed instructions and advice in associated assessment task sheets. In this paper, we analyse a sample English assessment task to consider how such assessment design practices might inadvertently create barriers to access and participation. To make our case, we highlight the learning characteristics of students in two of the most prevalent disability groups: students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and students with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). The paper links student agency to the problem of equity by analysing the conditions and criteria of access that are built into assessment design. The article concludes with design recommendations to help improve access for all students, including students in these two highly prevalent disability groups.     

Tensions Between the “Science” of Reading and a “Love of Learning”: One High-Poverty School's Struggle with NCLB

This article addresses one of the fundamental flaws of No Child Left Behind (NCLB): the disconnect it creates between the lived culture of schools and the inflexible mandates focused exclusively on scientific research. Specifically, we examined NCLB's Reading First Program, a grant program that focuses on promoting specific “scientifically-based” components of teaching reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension instruction). The data reported in the article is based on a qualitative case study of one high-poverty school in the Northeastern section of the United States. The findings suggest that missing in the story of scientifically-based research and accountability are the roles that context and individual student needs play in the professional role of a teacher in the classroom.     

Film Books

Akira Kurosawa, SOMETHING LIKE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1982---$15.00)

Joseph McBride, HAWKS ON HAWKS (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982---$14.95/$6.95)

Ruth McCormick's (trans.) FASSBINDER(New York: Tanem Press, 1981---$15.95/$7.95)

“Twayne's Theatrical Arts Series”

G.K. Hall “Reference Publications in Film” series (Boston: G.K. Hall, l981---prices shown below)

Michael Haley, THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK ALBUM (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1981---$17.95)

James Curtis, BETWEEN FLOPS: A BIOGRAPHY OF PRESTON STURGES (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982---$15.95)