HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitudes, and risk-behaviors among African-American and Caribbean college women

The HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitudes, and sexualrisk-taking behaviors of a sample ofAfrican-American and Caribbean college wereinvestigated. The study also explored therelationship between the women's self-esteem,self-efficacy, sexual communication, andreligiosity and their HIV knowledge, attitudes,and risk behaviors. Findings revealed thatwhile both groups of women were fairlyknowledgeable about HIV/AIDS transmission andprevention, their sexual risk-taking behaviorswere still relatively high. TheAfrican-American women were more knowledgeableabout HIV/AIDS than were the Caribbean women. Also, the African-American women engaged insignificantly fewer sexual risk-takingbehaviors than their Caribbean femalecounterparts. No significant cultural groupdifferences emerged on attitudes towardHIV/AIDS as a disease, HIV infected persons,and AIDS-related issues. A number ofsignificant correlations were found. The studyconcludes that HIV/AIDS counseling andprevention approaches that are ethnic,cultural, and gender appropriate are vital forincreasing both cognitive and behavioralchanges in culturally diverse young women.     

Social cognition in context: validating a cartoon-based attributional measure for urban girls

Standard approaches to the development of psychological measures emphasize the role of the research team in identifying constructs, generating and retaining items, and establishing psychometric soundness. Although there are a number of strengths associated with these methods, the resulting measures may not be culturally sensitive to minority cultural groups. In order to address this need, the authors partnered with African American inner-city 3rd- and 4th-grade girls (predominantly 9- and 10-year-olds) to design and validate a cartoon-based hostile attributional bias measure that is developmentally and culturally sensitive. This paper illustrates how a partnership-based research model can be used to design measurement tools sensitive to the ways in which developmental processes are influenced by an urban, low-income, ecological context.     

Foreign Media Systems

Conferences, proceedings of three recent international telecommunications

Yves de la Haye, ed. Marx and Engles on the Means of Communication (International General, P.O. Box 350, New York, N.Y. 10013---$4.50 or £2.25, paper)

David Hargreaves' Adult Literacy and Broadcasting: The BBC's Experience (London: Frances Pinter/New York: Nichols, 1980---$22.50)

Christopher Bagley and Gajendra K. Verma's Racial Prejudice, the Individual and Society (Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books/Farnborough: Saxon House, 1979--- $19.00)

David Morley's The Nationwide Audience: Structure and Deconding (British Film Institute, 127 Charing Cross Rd., London WC2H oEA---£.2.95 or about $$7.50, paper)

Barbara Coulton's Louis MacNeice in the BBC (London: Faber and Faber/Lawrence, Mass.: Merrimach Book Service, 1980---E12.50/$31.00)

Australia, a report from Henry Mayer of some recent material from

World Bank, catalog of publications from     

The successful resolution of armed hostage/barricade events in schools: A qualitative analysis

This article explores the perceptions and reactions of school and law enforcement personnel in the successful resolution of armed hostage and barricade events in schools. A total of 12 individuals from three schools were interviewed to determine (1) their salient roles related to the situations, (2) facilitative systemic conditions, (3) to what they attributed the successful resolution, and (4) their advice to other school professionals. Results suggest that establishment of trusting relationships between school personnel and all students is essential in successfully resolving school hostage and barricade events. In addition, respondents discussed the importance of awareness, training, and communications in resolving such events. Implications for school staff are included, along with limitations and future research directions. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.