bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preformed Metal Crowns: Views of a Group of Dental Practitioners in North Wales
Authors: Chadwick Barbara L , Gash Chris , Stewart Kate
Published: January 2008

Objectives

To determine the views of general dental practitioners (GDPs) in North Wales on the use of preformed metal crowns (PMCs) for the treatment of primary molars.

Method

Following ethical approval, all GDPs in the North Wales Health Authority (85) were invited to participate in the study. After consent was given, a trained GDP conducted all interviews regarding the participants’ approach to restorative care in children, preferred materials, use of local anaesthesia (LA), training, and use of PMCs. Their recorded responses were transcribed and analysed at a line-by-line level to identify themes within the data. The analysis was conducted according to a framework approach.

Results

Of the 85 GDPs, 27 responded to the invitation. After ten interviews no new substantive themes were emerging and data collection ended (saturation sampling). The GDPs who responded had practised for between three and 35 years and graduated from nine dental schools. The GDPs interviewed knew the advantages of PMCs but did not use them. Most had received undergraduate training with PMCs and were confident they would be able to place them if required. Reasons given for not using them included: limited experience, cost and time placing them, fear of hurting the child patient, need for LA, and glass-ionomer cement being easier to use.

Conclusions

These GDPs knew that PMCs were the most durable restorative option and thought they had the skill to place them. However, they believed a less interventive approach, without LA, worked best with children, and PMCs did not fit well with this approach.
Diagnosis, Prevention and Management of Dental Erosion: Summary of an Updated National Guideline
Authors: Milosevic Alex , O'Sullivan Elizabeth
Published: January 2008

An updated guideline on erosion has recently been published.1 The full version can be viewed on The Royal College of Surgeons of England website at www.rcseng.ac.uk/fds/clinical_guidelines . The guideline aims to assist the diagnosis, prevention and management of erosion in children, adolescents and adults. It has several sections, covering aetiology, presentation, diagnosis and management. The update replaces the previous guideline, which was published in 1999, and focuses more on practical aspects of management. Details of the search strategy to obtain evidence to support the guidelines can be found on the website in an Erosion Guideline Appendix. In common with the majority of oral conditions, there are significant gaps in the evidence on which to base guidelines. However, both of the authors of the updated guideline have research backgrounds in toothwear/dental erosion, as well as clinical experience of its management, and the guideline should be viewed as the best available at present. This brief report summarises the updated guideline, which will be linked to the Standards in Dentistry webpages in the near future.
A Survey of General Dental Practitioners in Merseyside regarding Urgent Appointments and Suspected Cancer Referrals
Authors: Rogers Simon N , Glen Peter , Robinson Aaron , Lowe Derek , Grieveson Brian , Edwards Dympna
Published: January 2008

Aims

The aims of this study were to investigate the current situation regarding unregistered patients in the Mersey region who seek an urgent dental appointment, and to gather information on suspected oral cancer cases seen by dentists in the previous two years and about how such cases are referred.

Methods

The survey took the form of a short questionnaire sent in May 2006 to all general dental practitioners (GDPs) in the Mersey region who were registered with the regional postgraduate dental office.

Results

A total of 904 GDPs were identified and 572 (63%) returned completed survey responses. Half (276/572; 48%) reported that they could see new patients urgently under the National Health Service (NHS) and two-thirds (365/571; 64%) that they could see them either under the NHS or privately. Nineteen per cent reported that they would not see any new patients. Those in the most deprived areas were more likely to see a patient on the NHS. The waiting time for an urgent appointment, if it was offered, was over one week for nearly one-third (32%) of the dentists offering NHS care. Most dentists (84%) said that a patient suspected of having oral cancer would be referred the same day as the decision had been made to refer.

Conclusion

Access to dental care has been a high-profile issue over the past few years. This survey indicated that in Merseyside, just under half of the dentists who responded were willing to see new patients with urgent problems under the NHS. It is suggested that this difficulty in access, together with some reported delays in obtaining appointments and the methods of onward referral, may cause additional barriers to early detection of oral cancer, especially for those in the most at-risk groups, who are also very frequently hard to reach.
COREC: the end of trainee-driven clinical research?
Authors: Patel N , George B , Chandratreya A , Bollen S
Published: January 2008

Since 1 March 2004 anyone who wishes to set up clinical trials in the United Kingdom has to go through an extensive application process to gain ethical approval. The Central Office for Research Ethics Committees (COREC) was set up by the government both to standardise and centralise the process and to address concerns regarding patient care, safety and confidentiality. We are encouraged to complete this online (http://www.corec.org.uk/). Here awaits a 60-page form, which although not all its pages are applicable, is time-consuming. There is also a research and development (RD) form (http://www.rdform.org.uk/) to complete, which deals with cost issues and a Caldicott form dealing with patient confidentiality. On top of all that there may be other local forms to complete. There is already evidence that applications to local research ethics committees are down by around 40% in the years 2003–2004.
CPD is the key
Authors: Chilton Chris , Clark Dave
Published: January 2008

The Queen's speech later this year is expected to include a new health and social care bill, which will bring into legislation the recommendations of the white paper, Trust, Assurance And Safety, including plans to introduce a system of revalidation across the medical profession, comprising relicensure by the GMC and specialist recertification by the relevant medical royal college and specialty association. It is important that the process of revalidation does not become a burden on the profession, but that it facilitates higher standards of patient care through supporting professional development. Continuing professional development (CPD) is key for a natural process of planning, recording and reflecting on professional development, rather than merely a tick-box exercise.
College visits Caribbean for conference and workshops
Authors: Liptrot Sarah , Breuning Eleonore
Published: January 2008

The president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, Bernard Ribeiro, was invited to participate in the fifth annual conference of the Caribbean College of Surgeons from 8–10 June 2007, following the success of previous visits. In recent years, the English College has run a successful Basic Surgical Skills (BSS) course in Barbados and Jamaica. We were delighted to continue this international educational collaboration by par ticipating in the 2007 BSS course, which this year included training in advanced laparoscopy.
A national plan for trauma services
Authors: Stanley John , Cripps Jo
Published: January 2008

The reconfiguration debate has dominated the NHS over the summer with Conservative leader David Cameron promising a 'bare knuckle fight' over district general hospitals under threat from service closure. With the focus clearly on the need for service change, it is timely for the College to restate its policy on the provision of trauma care. We are calling for a critical examination of those centres currently providing trauma care and a national plan for the identification of major specialist trauma centres to provide the best care to injured patients.
Trainees' perceptions of the current operating theatre educational environment
Authors: Nagraj S , Wall D , Jones E
Published: January 2008

Tales of consultant surgeons throwing their instruments across the operating theatre seem like history. Surgery is now a more flexible, female-friendly and intellectually challenging speciality than it has ever been. Why is it then that there is a problem both in North America and in the United Kingdom in attracting and keeping young doctors in surgical training schemes? In the USA, there is evidence that increasing numbers of surgical trainees are leaving surgical residency programmes. Fewer medical students are choosing a surgical career, due to inadequate income for the level of commitment, inadequate family time and the high stress associated with the profession.
Orthodontic training for primary care dentists
Authors: Drake Sharon
Published: January 2008

The Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) and the British Orthodontic Society (BOS) have developed a teaching programme for primary care dentists wishing to enhance their skills in orthodontics. It follows on from the introduction of the Dentists with Special Interests (DwSI) scheme, which has provided Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) with an additional way to meet the oral health needs of the local population.
Representing the College at the three party conferences
Authors: Woodnick Mel
Published: January 2008

This year for the first time the College joined the Health Hotel, a collaboration of 36 health organisations that come together to hold joint fringe events at political party conferences. Ours was the only royal college taking part, alongside organisations such as the General Medical Council, the British Medical Association, the Healthcare Commission, The Health Foundation, the NHS Confederation and The King's Fund, to bring real insight and clinical knowledge to party political debate.
Women in Surgery: raising the profile
Authors: Wynn-Mackenzie Clare
Published: January 2008

It is clear from the marked disparity between the ever-increasing population of female medical students (up to 70% in some medical schools) and the stubbornly low proportion of female consultant surgeons (approximately 6%) that surgery remains a profession in which women do not succeed at the same rate as their male colleagues. This is undoubtedly due in part to the profession's failure to attract the best women medical graduates but is also a result of the many obstacles along the career pathway that affect women more than men.
Advancing education through collaboration: a year in the FGDP(UK)
Authors: Worker Charlotte
Published: January 2008

'Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.' Henry Ford's words carry particular resonance when reflecting upon progress in the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) during 2007. In a year that has seen the launch of four new educational programmes and the introduction of a new membership diploma to name but a few successes, one theme characterises this remarkable progress: collaboration and partnership.
Ambitious mothers – successful daughters: Mothers' early expectations for children's education and children's earnings and sense of control in adult life
Authors: Flouri Eirini , Hawkes Denise
Published: January 2008

Background. Mothers' expectations for their children's educational attainment are related to children's educational and occupational attainment. Studies have yet to establish, however, the long‐term links between maternal expectations and offspring earnings, which are not always related to occupational attainment especially in women, or between maternal expectations and offspring sense of control and self‐efficacy, which are pivotal factors in career choice and development.

Aims. To explore the role of mothers' expectations for their children's educational attainment in children's earnings attainment and sense of control later in life.

Method. Data from sweeps of the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) were used. The study sample was those cohort members with complete information on all the variables of interest. The study sample (N= 3,285) was more educated and less disadvantaged than the whole sample. If cohort members of this type are more likely to have a mother who has high expectations, then our results are biased downwards, which suggests that we underestimate the effect of expectations on our two outcome variables.

Results. Mothers' expectations at the age of 10 were positively related to daughters' sense of control at the age of 30 even after controlling for ethnicity, educational attainment, and concurrent partner, parent, and labour market participation status, as well as the following confounding variables (measured at the ages of 0–10): general ability and general ability squared, locus of control, emotional and behavioural problems and emotional and behavioural problems squared, socio‐economic disadvantage, parental social class, parental family structure, and mothers' education, child‐rearing attitudes, and mental health. Mothers' expectations had no effect on sons' adult outcomes.

Conclusions. Given that women are particularly at risk for poor psychological and economic outcomes in adulthood, and that this study likely underestimated the effect of expectations on these two outcomes, this is an important conclusion.
How second‐grade students internalize rules during teacher–student transactions: A case study
Authors: Méard Jacques , Bertone Stefano , Flavier Eric
Published: January 2008

Background. Vygotsky's theory of the internalization of signs provided the basis for this study.

Aims. This study tried to analyse the processes by which second‐grade students internalize school rules.

Sample. Ethnographic data were collected on 102 lessons in a second‐grade class (6–8 years) during 1 year. This study focused on three lessons (ethnographic data completed by video‐recordings, post‐lesson interviews with the teacher, and re‐transcriptions of the verbal interactions of the lessons and interviews).

Method. The longitudinal observation data were broken down into discrete transactions, crossed with the recorded data, and analysed in a four‐step procedure.

Results. The results showed that the students' self‐regulated actions (voluntary performance of prescribed actions) corresponded to the teacher's presentation of the rules, which was varied and personalized. She used explanation/justification, negotiation, persuasion, or imposition as a function of the situation and the students concerned. The results revealed: (a) Multiple actions of explanation/justification of the rules, negotiation and persuasion to the entire class, (b) Personalized actions of persuasion and rule imposition in instances of heteronomous actions by students, (c) Actions adjusted to the dynamics of the transactions.

Conclusion. This study demonstrates how closely the actions of teacher and students are linked. More than a linear process of rules internalization, education looks like a co‐construction of rules between teacher and students. These results can serve as a basis for the tools of teacher teaching.
Improved statistics for contrasting means of two samples under non‐normality
Authors: Xu Jin , Cui Xinping , Gupta Arjun K.
Published: January 2008

This paper presents the asymptotic expansions of the distributions of the two‐samplet‐statistic and the Welch statistic, for testing the equality of the means of two independent populations under non‐normality. Unlike other approaches, we obtain the null distributions in terms of the distribution and density functions of the standard normal variable up ton−1, wherenis the pooled sample size. Based on these expansions, monotone transformations are employed to remove the higher‐order cumulant effect. We show that the new statistics can improve the precision of statistical inference to the level ofo(n−1). Numerical studies are carried out to demonstrate the performance of the improved statistics. Some general rules for practitioners are also recommended.
Reporting subscores for institutions
Authors: Haberman Shelby , Sinharay Sandip , Puhan Gautam
Published: January 2008

Recently, there has been an increasing level of interest in reporting subscores for components of larger assessments. This paper examines the issue of reporting subscores at an aggregate level, especially at the level of institutions to which the examinees belong. A new statistical approach based on classical test theory is proposed to assess when subscores at the institutional level have any added value over the total scores. The methods are applied to two operational data sets. For the data under study, the observed results provide little support in favour of reporting subscores for either examinees or institutions.
Optimum sample size allocation to minimize cost or maximize power for the two‐sample trimmed mean test
Authors: Guo Jiin‐Huarng , Luh Wei‐Ming
Published: January 2008

When planning a study, sample size determination is one of the most important tasks facing the researcher. The size will depend on the purpose of the study, the cost limitations, and the nature of the data. By specifying the standard deviation ratio and/or the sample size ratio, the present study considers the problem of heterogeneous variances and non‐normality for Yuen's two‐group test and develops sample size formulas to minimize the total cost or maximize the power of the test. For a given power, the sample size allocation ratio can be manipulated so that the proposed formulas can minimize the total cost, the total sample size, or the sum of total sample size and total cost. On the other hand, for a given total cost, the optimum sample size allocation ratio can maximize the statistical power of the test. After the sample size is determined, the present simulation applies Yuen's test to the sample generated, and then the procedure is validated in terms of Type I errors and power. Simulation results show that the proposed formulas can control Type I errors and achieve the desired power under the various conditions specified. Finally, the implications for determining sample sizes in experimental studies and future research are discussed.
Understanding the impact of prior depression on stress generation: Examining the roles of current depressive symptoms and interpersonal behaviours
Authors: Shih Josephine H. , Eberhart Nicole K.
Published: January 2008

Stress generation is a process in which individuals contribute to stressful life events. While research has supported an association between current depression and stress generation, it has been noted that individuals with prior depression tend to contribute to stressors even when they are no longer experiencing a depressive episode. The aim of the study is to elucidate the pathways through which prior major depression predicts interpersonal stress generation in women. Specifically, we examined current subsyndromal depressive symptoms and problematic interpersonal behaviours as potential mediators. Fifty‐one college women were followed prospectively for 6 weeks. Participants were interviewed to assess current and past depression as well as stressful life events they experienced over the 6‐week period. The findings suggest that prior major depression continues to have an impact even after the episode has ended, as the disorder continues to contribute to stress generation through residual depressive symptoms.
Spatial knowledge of geographical globes: Evidence of vertical alignment effects
Authors: Tlauka Michael , Drummond Aaron , Leffers Jason
Published: January 2008

This study investigated human spatial memory of geographical globes. In two experiments, participants studied locations presented on a three‐dimensional globe. Subsequently, participants' knowledge of the locations was tested employing two types of pointing task. Directional judgments from imagined locations on the globe were performed either vertically through the ground (as if digging a straight tunnel between the locations) or horizontally along the surface of the globe (the shortest distance for an aircraft to fly to a given destination). In the vertical pointing task, judgments originating from imagined locations in the upper hemisphere were superior by comparison with those originating from imagined locations in the lower hemisphere. Performance in the horizontal pointing task was more variable, with a tendency for superior judgments originating from imagined locations in the lower hemisphere. The results provide evidence of a novel alignment effect involving vertical judgments.
Cognitive Ethology: A new approach for studying human cognition
Authors: Kingstone Alan , Smilek Daniel , Eastwood John D.
Published: January 2008

We all share a desire to understand and predict human cognition and behaviour as it occurs within complex real‐world situations. This target article seeks to open a dialogue with our colleagues regarding this common goal. We begin by identifying the principles of most lab‐based investigations and conclude that adhering to them will fail to generate valid theories of human cognition and behaviour in natural settings. We then present an alternative set of principles within a novel research framework called ‘Cognitive Ethology’. We discuss how Cognitive Ethology can complement lab‐based investigations, and we show how its levels of description and explanation are distinct from what is typically employed in lab‐based research.
The Children's Body Image Scale: Reliability and use with international standards for body mass index
Authors: Truby Helen. , Paxton Susan J.
Published: January 2008

Objective

To test the reliability of the Children's Body Image Scale (CBIS) and assess its usefulness in the context of new body size charts for children.

Method

Participants were 281 primary schoolchildren with 50% being retested after 3 weeks. The CBIS figure scale was compared with a range of international body mass index (BMI) reference standards.

Results

Children had a high degree of body image dissatisfaction. The test–retest reliability of the CBIS was supported.

Conclusions

The CBIS is a useful tool for assessing body image in children with sound scale properties. It can also be used to identify the body size of children, which lies outside the healthy weight range of BMI.
Positive schizotypy and trait dissociation as vulnerability factors for post‐traumatic distress
Authors: Steel Craig. , Mahmood Misbah. , Holmes Emily A.
Published: January 2008

Objective

This study investigated whether trait positive schizotypy or trait dissociation was associated with increased levels of data‐driven processing and symptoms of post‐traumatic distress following a road traffic accident.

Methods

Forty‐five survivors of road traffic accidents were recruited from a London Accident and Emergency service. Each completed measures of trait positive schizotypy, trait dissociation, data‐driven processing, and post‐traumatic stress.

Results

Trait positive schizotypy was associated with increased levels of data‐driven processing and post‐traumatic symptoms during a road traffic accident, whereas trait dissociation was not.

Conclusions

Previous results which report a significant relationship between trait dissociation and post‐traumatic symptoms may be an artefact of the relationship between trait positive schizotypy and trait dissociation.
Behavioural, emotional, and post‐traumatic stress problems in children and adolescents, long term after septic shock caused by Neisseria meningitidis
Authors: Vermunt L. C. A. C. , Buysse C. M. P. , Joosten K. F. M. , Hazelzet J. A. , Verhulst F. C. , Utens E. M. W. J.
Published: January 2008

Objectives

To assess the occurrence of a wide range of behavioural, emotional, and post‐traumatic stress problems in children and adolescents, long term after septic shock caused by Neisseria meningitidis (MSS).

Design

This study included 6‐ to 17‐year‐old patients who survived MSS and were admitted to the PICU of the Medical Centre between 1988 and 2001. To assess behavioural, emotional, and post‐traumatic stress problems, the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL), the Teacher's Report Form (TRF), and the Youth Self‐Report (YSR) were used.

Methods

Parents of 89 MSS children, aged 6–17 years, completed the CBCL. Teachers of 65 same‐aged MSS children completed the TRF, and 45 11‐ to 17‐year‐old MSS children completed the YSR. These data were compared with those from the normative reference groups.

Results

Overall, the proportions of MSS children scoring in the deviant range for problem behaviour were comparable to the proportions in the reference groups, according to parents', teachers', and self‐reports.

As to the level of emotional and behavioural problems, mothers of the MSS children reported more somatic complaints regarding their children in comparison with the reference groups.

Severity of illness was not a significant predictor of behavioural, emotional, and post‐traumatic stress problems. Age at the time of illness was a significant predictor of behavioural, emotional, and post‐traumatic stress problems in MSS children, indicating that the younger the child at the time of illness, the more problems were reported by parents at follow‐up.

Conclusion

Overall, the results showed long‐term behavioural, emotional, and post‐traumatic stress outcomes for MSS children, which were comparable to those in the general population.
Social value orientation and cooperation in social dilemmas: A review and conceptual model
Authors: Bogaert Sandy , Boone Christophe , Declerck Carolyn
Published: January 2008

Social psychologists have long recognized that people fundamentally differ with respect to their social value orientation (SVO), that is, self‐regarding versus other regarding preferences, and that these differences affect cooperative behaviour in situations of interdependence. In this paper, we systematically review the vast number of findings on SVO and cooperation, and synthesize the state of the art by presenting an integrated conceptual model that may explain why and when people with different social values select different behavioural strategies in social dilemmas. Specifically, building on Pruitt and Kimmel's (1977) goal/expectation theory and our review of the literature, we suggest that the relationship between SVO and cooperative behaviour is mediated by (1) a cooperative goal and (2) the specific expectations concerning alters' behaviour. We also propose that trust and goal alignment are important contextual moderators of this relationship: for prosocials, cues signalling trust are necessary to generate positive expectations regarding alters' behaviour, whereas proselfs need external incentives to align their personal interest with a cooperative goal. We conclude this review by pointing to several avenues for future research that would help to deepen our understanding of the role of SVO in human cooperation.
Distinguishing among perceived control, perceived difficulty, and self‐efficacy as determinants of intentions and behaviours
Authors: Rodgers W. M. , Conner M. , Murray T. C.
Published: January 2008

Perceptions of control hold a dominant position in social cognitive theories yet there is a lack of conceptual and empirical clarity regarding what kind of control is most associated with particular behaviours. Three prominent types of control are perceived control (PC), perceived difficulty (PD), and perceived confidence or self‐efficacy (SE) for performing the desired behaviour. Three studies are presented with a primary goal of distinguishing PC, PD, and SE from each other, and a secondary goal of determining which of the three is the superior predictor of health‐related intentions and behaviours. The first study replicates earlier work by Trafimow et al. (2002) distinguishing the three constructs for reading 1, 30, and 100 pages, and extends it to exercising one, two, four, and six times per week and also to predicting intentions to exercise 4 days per week and behaviour 1 week later. The second study examines the predictive capability of the three constructs for intentions to floss one's teeth everyday and to eat 5–10 servings of fruits and vegetables everyday and subsequently on behaviour assessed 7 days later. The third study reports a meta‐analysis of the relative influence of PC, PD, and SE on behaviours when defined in conceptually consistent ways. The results of all three studies support the conceptual and empirical distinction of PC, PD, and SE and the superiority of SE as a predictor of health behaviours and intentions.
Discovery of the faithfulness gene: A model of transmission and transformation of scientific information
Authors: Green Eva G. T. , Clémence Alain
Published: January 2008

The purpose of this paper is to study the diffusion and transformation of scientific information in everyday discussions. Based on rumour models and social representations theory, the impact of interpersonal communication and pre‐existing beliefs on transmission of the content of a scientific discovery was analysed. In three experiments, a communication chain was simulated to investigate how laypeople make sense of a genetic discovery first published in a scientific outlet, then reported in a mainstream newspaper and finally discussed in groups. Study 1 (N =40) demonstrated a transformation of information when the scientific discovery moved along the communication chain. During successive narratives, scientific expert terminology disappeared while scientific information associated with lay terminology persisted. Moreover, the idea of a discovery of a faithfulness gene emerged. Study 2 (N =70) revealed that transmission of the scientific message varied as a function of attitudes towards genetic explanations of behaviour (pro‐genetics vs. anti‐genetics). Pro‐genetics employed more scientific terminology than anti‐genetics. Study 3 (N =75) showed that endorsement of genetic explanations was related to descriptive accounts of the scientific information, whereas rejection of genetic explanations was related to evaluative accounts of the information.
Speaking of home truth: (Re)productions of dyadic‐containment in non‐monogamous relationships
Authors: Finn Mark , Malson Helen
Published: January 2008

This paper is a critical exploration of the discursive and socio‐historical practice of ‘dyadic‐containment’ as a principle index for how we know, experience, and authenticate romantic relationships. Making intelligible an ‘authentic’ relationship as something which is fixed, enclosed and exclusive, the pervasive principle of dyadic‐containment has considerable implications for what it means to live out ‘authentic’ but ostensibly liberated relationships. Using post‐structuralist discourse analysis to explore ways in which people can account for their consensual non‐monogamous relationships (same and cross‐sex, dyadic and non‐dyadic), we critique the liberal‐humanist framework from which such relationships can be played out. In that dyadic‐containment as an aspect of an ontology of interiorized and contained ‘realness’ can be viewed as serving to characterize and authorize monogamous relationships (as we illustrate), practices of consensual non‐monogamy that reproduce dyadic‐containment as an organizing and authenticating principle are problematized. Limits to understandings and practices of some ‘alternative’ romantic relationships are therefore expounded and consideration is given to how relational difference might be otherwise premised.
The relativity of bad decisions: Social comparison as a means to alleviate regret
Authors: Van Harreveld Frenk , van der Pligt Joop , Nordgren Loran
Published: January 2008

In two studies, we examined the role of social comparisons in regret management. In the first study, participants received a (relatively) negative outcome after which they were presented with base‐rate information about the performance of other participants in the experiment. Results showed that experienced regret decreased as a result of base‐rate information showing that most others made even worse decisions than oneself. In the second study, we investigated whether people actively seek this kind of consensual information to validate their decision. After inducing regret by means of a manipulated outcome in a trivia quiz, participants could obtain information about the outcomes of previous participants or about the type of items used in the quiz. Participants' preference was determined by whether or not they believed that they would be given a second chance. In case of a negative and final outcome, participants preferred information about the prevalence of others who had an even worse outcome. When the outcome was non‐final, participants preferred information about the type of items used in the test. Both strategies were accompanied with a decrease in regret. Implications for research on regret and decision making are discussed.
British National Party representations of Muslims in the month after the London bombings: Homogeneity, threat, and the conspiracy tradition
Authors: Wood C. , Finlay W. M. L.
Published: January 2008

This study presents an analysis of articles written by prominent members of the British National Party. Each of these articles discussed Muslims and Islam in the aftermath of the 7 July 2005 London bombings. Two prominent discursive themes are discussed here. The first concerned the writers' constructions of the threat that Muslims and Islam pose to Britain. Central to this theme were constructions of Muslims as ‘fascists’, anti‐white racists, and all potentially dangerous, although there was variability in this. Using the Koran as evidence, the articles present a vision of a faith which intends to take over the country; in this way, a homogenous, culturally essentialist version of Muslims is worked up. The second theme illustrates how the writers challenge those who believe that creating a British multicultural society is possible, and in doing so construct liberals and multiculturalists as also posing a threat to the country. The ways in which this represents a variety of conspiracy theory, and the implications of these constructions for social action, are discussed.
Proximity seeking in adult attachment: Examining the role of automatic approach–avoidance tendencies
Authors: Dewitte Marieke , De Houwer Jan , Buysse Ann , Koster Ernst H. W.
Published: January 2008

In two experiments, participants made symbolic approach and avoidance movements towards or away from attachment figure‐ and acquaintance‐related cues after being primed with a distressing or a non‐distressing context. Results showed that automatic approach responses towards the attachment figure were stronger in a distressing than in a non‐distressing context, regardless of whether the source of distress was attachment‐relevant or ‐irrelevant and regardless of one's attachment style. Individual differences in attachment anxiety and avoidance were associated with the predicted patterns of approach–avoidance tendencies: attachment anxiety heightened the tendency to approach the attachment Figure (Experiments 1 and 2), whereas attachment avoidance reduced this tendency (Experiment 2). Findings are discussed as providing first evidence on the role of automatic action tendencies in adult attachment.
Differential relations between two types of contact and implicit and explicit racial attitudes
Authors: Prestwich Andrew , Kenworthy Jared B. , Wilson Michelle , Kwan‐Tat Natasha
Published: January 2008

Contact with out‐group members has been associated with more favourable explicit attitudes towards the out‐group in general, largely via the mediation of reduced intergroup anxiety. In addition, there is now a growing body of evidence suggesting that contact relates to automatically activated evaluations termed implicit attitudes. However, research has not fully illuminated the mechanisms through which contact with outgroup members impacts on implicit attitudes. A study investigating this issue assessed White participants' (N =105) explicit attitudes, implicit attitudes, intergroup anxiety, and contact quantity and quality about Asians. Greater contact quality was related to more positive explicit attitudes, while contact quantity was associated with more positive implicit attitudes. Both effects were mediated by reduced intergroup anxiety.
Do as we say and as we do: The interplay of descriptive and injunctive group norms in the attitude–behaviour relationship
Authors: Smith Joanne R. , Louis Winnifred R.
Published: January 2008

Past research on the social identity approach to attitude–behaviour relations has operationalized group norms as a mixture of both descriptive information (i.e. what most people do themselves) and injunctive information (i.e. what most people approve of). Two experiments (Study 1=185 participants; Study 2=238 participants) were conducted to tease apart the relative effects of descriptive and injunctive group norms. In both studies, university students' attitudes towards current campus issues were obtained, the descriptive and injunctive group norms were manipulated, and participants' post‐manipulation attitudes, behavioural willingness, and behaviour were assessed. Study 2 also examined the role of norm source (i.e. in‐group vs. out‐group injunctive and descriptive norms). In both studies, the injunctive and descriptive in‐group norms interacted significantly to influence attitudes, behavioural willingness, and behaviour. Study 2 revealed that out‐group norms were largely ineffective. The research illustrates that in‐groups interactively influence decisions, not only by what they say, but also by what they do, and asserts the value of considering the interaction of descriptive and injunctive norms in accounts of normative influence.
The decontextualization of form and function in the development of pretence
Authors: Bigham S………ally , Bourchier‐Sutton Alison
Published: January 2008

Through the process of decontextualization, the behaviours and objects used in children's pretence become increasingly detached from their real‐life contexts and uses (Flavell, 1985). However, whilst age‐related changes in children's pretence have been reasonably well documented, the relationship between the decontextualization of form and function has yet to be established and the relationship between pretence using substitute objects and pretence without substitute objects remains unclear. To address these issues, 3–8‐year‐old typically developing children (N =84) were shown a series of pretend actions, like writing, enacted at various levels of decontextualization. Children's understanding of each action was assessed. The results revealed three main findings. First, form and function are both equally important in children's comprehension of object substitution pretence. Second, children find actions enacted using substitute objects that are similar to the referent in terms of both their form and function easier to interpret than those performed using decontextualized props – including body‐part‐as‐object (BPO) and imaginary object (IO) gestures – regardless of age. Finally, BPO and IO gestures are of equal complexity and children 5 years and above correctly interpret these gestures more readily than actions involving substitute objects that share no similarity with the referent. These findings are discussed in relation to dual and triune representation problems (DeLoache, 1995; Tomasello, Striano, & Rochat, 1999).
A link between mothers' disciplinary strategies and children's relational aggression
Authors: Sandstrom Marlene J.
Published: January 2008

This study examines the association between maternal disciplinary strategies and children's level of relational aggression, and then compares these associations with those found with overt aggression. Eighty‐two 4th graders (aged 9–11 years) completed peer nomination measures of relational and overt aggression, and their mothers completed a questionnaire designed to assess their use of disciplinary strategies (e.g. authoritarian, authoritative, permissive). Consistent with prior research, parental reliance on authoritarian strategies was positively associated with children's level of overt aggression, especially among boys. There was also a trend towards a positive association between authoritarianism and relational aggression among both boys and girls. In addition, this study is the first to show a positive association between maternal permissiveness and relational aggression. This association appears to be specific to relational, and not overt aggression, and emerge more strongly for girls than boys. The implications of these results for understanding the developmental underpinnings of relational aggression are discussed.
Children's stereotypes of overweight children
Authors: Penny Helen , Haddock Geoffrey
Published: January 2008

The aim of the present study was to assess the content, favourability and generality of perceptions held about overweight children. The research also addressed whether anti‐fat biases change with age and whether they result from a strong association between overweight and bad behaviour, a weak association between overweight and good behaviour or both. Seventy‐three 5‐ to 10‐year‐olds were read aloud a number of short stories containing characters demonstrating high and low athletic, academic, artistic and social abilities. They were then shown eight different pairs of cards; each pair comprised a drawing of an average‐weight and an overweight version of the same child. Participants were then asked to point to the pictures that looked most like the good and bad characters in the stories. The results demonstrated that 5‐ to 8‐year‐olds were significantly less likely to choose an overweight picture to represent the characters with high athletic, academic, artistic and social ability. In contrast, 9‐ to 10‐year‐olds were significantly less likely to choose an overweight figure to represent the characters with high athletic ability, did not differentiate on the basis of weight for the academic and artistic stories, and were significantly more likely to choose an overweight picture as having high social ability.
What do children look at in an adult face with which they are personally familiar?
Authors: Wilson R…ebecca R. , Blades Mark , Pascalis Olivier
Published: January 2008

Adults recognize familiar faces better by their internal than external face parts. It is not clear when children achieve this internal face part advantage, however, previous research has suggested that it emerges after the age of seven years. The present study was the first study to show personally familiar adult faces (school staff) to children aged 5–6, 7–8 and 10–11 years, and we asked the children to identify which faces were familiar. An internal face part advantage was found at all ages.
Pragmatic aspects of communication and language comprehension in groups of children differentiated by teacher ratings of inattention and hyperactivity
Authors: Bignell Simon , Cain Kate
Published: January 2008

Children with attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience pragmatic language deficits, but it is not known whether these difficulties are primarily associated with high levels of inattention, hyperactivity, or both. We investigated pragmatic aspects of communication and language comprehension in relation to poor attention and/or high hyperactivity in a nondiagnosed population of 7‐ to 11‐year olds. Classroom teachers rated their pupils' attention and hyperactivity/impulsivity on the ADD‐H Comprehensive Teacher Rating scale (ACTeRS). Three groups were formed: children with poor attention and low hyperactivity (poor attention group), children with good attention and high hyperactivity (high hyperactivity group), and children with both poor attention and high hyperactivity (poor attention/high hyperactivity group). Their performance was compared with that of same‐age controls in two studies: Study 1 (N = 94) investigated the comprehension of figurative language in and out of context and Study 2 (N = 100) investigated the pragmatic aspects of communication using the Children's Communication Checklist – Second Edition.

Two groups, the poor attention and the poor attention/high hyperactivity groups, were impaired in both their comprehension of figurative language and their communication skills. The high hyperactivity group was impaired in their comprehension of figurative language but they did not exhibit communication impairments. The findings extend work with clinical populations of children with ADHD: even in a nondiagnosed sample of children, poor attention and elevated levels of hyperactivity are associated with pragmatic language weaknesses.
The mediated learning experience (MLE) in a three generational perspective
Authors: Isman Esther B. , Tzuriel David.
Published: January 2008

Previous research has shown thatmediated learning experience(MLE) strategies are important for the development of cognitive skills. Theoretically, grandparents have a significant role in the intergenerational transmission of MLE strategies. The purpose of this study is to investigate the resemblances and unique characteristics of mothers' and grandmothers' MLE strategies. A sample of 52 Israeli families composed of mother–child and maternal grandmother–child dyads were videotaped at home in two conditions: free play and structured (the same child was observed in each dyad). The interactions were analysed using theobservation of mediated interaction(OMI). Higher levels of MLE strategies were found during free play than in the structured condition. Positive correlations between grandmothers' and mothers' MLE strategies were found under both conditions. However, grandmothers provided a higher level of MLE strategies forintentionality and reciprocity,meaning, andtranscendence, but less mediation ofregulation of behaviourthan mothers. It is concluded that these differences may be the result of either differences in the perceived roles of mothers and grandmothers, or differences in the levels of experience of mothers and grandmothers.
Whose side are you on? Relational orientations and their impacts on side‐taking among Dutch and Chinese employees
Authors: Yang Huadong , Van de Vliert Evert , Shi Kan , Huang Xu
Published: January 2008

Informal relationships often influence employees who intervene in an interpersonal conflict between colleagues. We investigate and report the effects of relational orientations (reciprocity orientation and communal orientation) on employee preference of choosing sides between an acquaintance and a friend in a workplace dispute in The Netherlands and China. A scenario study was conducted among 104 Dutch and 105 Chinese employees. As hypothesized, the results indicate that employees, especially Dutch employees, with an interest‐concerned reciprocity orientation tend to side with the acquaintance who has a greater potential to return the favour. By contrast, employees, especially Chinese, with a sharing‐concerned communal orientation tend to side with their workplace friend. Explanations and implications of the findings are discussed.