Student,home, and school socio-demographic factors: links to school,home, and community arts participation

This study explored the role of student (e.g., age, language background, gender), home (e.g., parent/caregiver education), and school (e.g., school type, size) socio-demographic factors in students’ school (e.g., in-school arts tuition, arts engagement), home (e.g., parent/caregiver–child arts interaction), and community (e.g., arts attendance, arts tuition) arts participation. The sample comprised 1172 elementary and secondary school students from 15 schools. Findings revealed that student and home socio-demographic factors were the most salient in predicting arts participation across school, home, and community contexts. Age, gender, and prior achievement were the key student socio-demographic factors, while parent/caregiver education and occupation were also associated with students’ arts participation. Implications for practice and intervention pertinent to young people’s arts participation are discussed.     

Auditory Frequency Resolution in Human Infancy

Frequency resolution is a fundamental capacity of the auditory system that underlies the perception of all complex sounds. The development of this capacity has not been well characterized in humans. This investigation used a nonsimultaneous pulsation threshold technique to examine the development of infant frequency resolution. Psychophysical tuning curves were obtained for 3- and 6-month-olds and for adults at either 500, 1,000, or 4,000 Hz. Both the sensation level and the sound pressure level of the stimulus were varied for adults to determine the contribution of stimulus intensity to age differences in frequency resolution. At 500 and 1,000 Hz, 3- and 6-month-olds' tuning curve widths were equivalent to adults'. At 4,000 Hz, the 3-month-olds' tuning curves were broader than those of 6-month-olds and adults, even when absolute sound pressure level was equivalent. The maturation of psychophysical frequency resolution in infants is discussed in terms of the general development of the auditory system and of nonsensory factors that might contribute to age differences in performance.     

Distance learners' interactions with text while studying

This paper reports part of an investigation into how tertiary‐level distance students use and learn from textual materials during actual study sessions. Methods used provided biographical data on students and students' perceptions of their study approaches and access to the moment‐by‐moment thinking of students during study. Close‐ups of students at work provided by analysis of these data were not flattering. They revealed that students were satisficers, processed text at a rate consistent with a surface approach, avoided in‐text questions and activities wherever possible and made limited use of aspects of the text's access structure. Reasons for the poorer‐than‐expected study performances are considered as well as ways of improving text design to enhance the quality of learning.     

Attachment,Communication, and Relationship Functioning Among College Student Veterans and Nonveterans

This study examined attachment processes of college student veterans and nonveterans and further examined how veteran status and attachment style directly and indirectly predict relationship functioning. Results indicated that student veterans were more often dismissing in their attachment style but less often preoccupied than nonveteran students. Veteran status moderated the association between attachment style and dyadic consensus. The contributions of attachment and communication processes to overall relationship adjustment differed for student veterans and nonveterans.