bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Variations in Familism in Two Generations of Puerto Ricans
Authors: Cortes Dharma E.
Published: March 2007

The importance individuals give to the family in terms offeelings of loyalty, reciprocity, and solidarity known as familism is one of the most enduring and distinctive characteristics among Hispanics and Puerto Ricans in the United States. Departingfrom prior studies that have examined familistic beliefs across generations, the present study focused on how those beliefs operate within two family-linked generations (parent and child generation) of Puerto Ricans living in New York City. Education appeared to be the strongest variable affecting familistic beliefs within the two family generations. In addition to this, age at arrival in the United States affectedfamilism among those in the parent generation. Findings from this study suggest that processes affecting traditional beliefs among family-related individuals might be different even when they share the same family environment.
Coping with Stress among Salvadoran Immigrants
Authors: Plante Thomas G. , Manuel Gerdenio M. , Menendez Ana V. , Marcotte David
Published: March 2007

This study examined the stress response of 56 Salvadoran subjects who migrated to the United States following the recent civil war in El Salvador. The Impact of Events Scale (IES), the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), the Interpersonal Behavior Scale (IBS-RIED), and a clinical interview were administered to these subjects in order to assess their subjective stress response and symptoms of psychological distress. Subjects also completed a demographic questionnaire that included inquiries about stressors experienced in the United States and coping strategies used. Results indicate measurable levels of war-related stress in this population. English language skills, a positive and hard-working attitude, use of social supports, and their religious faith surfaced as adaptive coping strategies.
A New Measurement of Acculturation for Hispanics: The Bidimensional Acculturation Scale for Hispanics (BAS)
Authors: Marin Gerardo , Gamba Raymond J.
Published: March 2007

This article reports the development ofa bidimensional acculturation scaleforHispanics (BAS). The scale provides an acculturation score for two major cultural dimensions (Hispanic and non-Hispanic domains) by including 12 items (per cultural domain) that measure three language-related areas. A random sample of 254 adult Hispanics was surveyed to develop and validate the scale. The scores obtained with the BAS show high internal consistency and high validity coefficients. The scale works well with Mexican Americans and with Central Americans.
Misdemeanor Sentencing Decisions: The Cumulative Disadvantage Effect of "Gringo Justice"
Authors: Mufioz Ed A. , Lopez David A. , Stewart Eric
Published: March 2007

Research that examines the effect of Latino ethnicity on misdemeanor sentencing decisions is virtually nonexistent. In this study, the authors analyze 1992 misdemeanor sentences in three nonurban Nebraska counties with relatively large Latino populations. Support for "gringo justice" emanates as Latinos overall had significantly higher proportions of individuals charged with misdemeanor offenses other than simple traffic violations (i.e., misdemeanor alcohol and drug offenses). They also were recipients of a higher mean number of charges. Subsequently, Latinos received significantly higher meanfines and mean days probation but not mean days jail in comparison to their White counterparts. Findings suggest that biased discretion in the enforcement, processing, and sentencing of misdemeanor offenses is but one part of the cumulative disadvantage that Latinos face in the overall criminal justice system.
Credit Card Usage Behavior Between Anglos and Hispanics
Authors: Medina Jose F. , Chau Chak-Tong
Published: March 2007

Credit cards are becoming as conspicuous as money itself. Surveys of Personal Finances report that the credit card usage rate among Hispanics has increased over the pastfew years relative to Anglos. Moderated by an acculturation covariate, this article explores the differences between Anglos and Mexican Americans on their bank and retail credit card usage behavior A pretested bilingual self-administered questionnaire was mailed to 6,863 households in a Southwestern city with a large Hispanic population. A final sample of 1,132 subjects was analyzed to test four hypotheses. Contrary to previous researchfindings, Anglos and Hispanic Americans showed no significant differences in their credit card usage behaviorfor bank, store, and gas credit cardcs when controlling for education and income.
Breast-Feeding in Immigrant Women: The Role of Social Support and Acculturation
Authors: de Bocanegra Heike Thiel
Published: March 2007

This study assessed the influence of social support and acculturation on breast-feeding in 962 low-income immigrant women in New York Women completed a questionnaire during their postpartum visit. Logistic regression analyses revealed that more acculturated women were 2 times less likely to decide to breast-feed than less acculturated women. The influence of acculturation decreased, however, when controlling for other predictor variables. Predictor variables of breast-feeding (p < .OS) were intent, being a nonsmoker, breast-feeding role modeling, and a negative response to the item "A modern woman breast-feeds her baby." Acculturation did not influence breast-feeding. More acculturated women reported more social support. The results indicate a need to target breast-feeding promotion to the most vulnerable group of young mothers (i.e., recent arrivals and women who are undecided about their infantfeeding method).
Maternal Generation from Mexico as a Predictor of Infants’ Language Development
Authors: Montgomery Gary T. , Gonzales Maria Diana , Gonzalez Cynthia A.
Published: March 2007

The hypothesis that maternal generation from Mexico predicts infant receptive and expressive communication age at 22 months was investigated. Participants included 62 infants from Mexican American families who graduated from a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and 35 full-term infants also born to Mexican American parents. The results showed that infants born to mothers of recent generation from Mexico had lower language development scores than did infants born to mothers of later generation. Fathers’ education levels were also significant predictors of infants’22-month language outcome, although maternal generation from Mexico remained a stronger predictor of outcome than did paternal education level for expressive language and for receptive language for the NICU graduates. The results support theories that emphasize the importance of environmental context on child development.
Genre as Temporally Situated Social Action
Authors: DUNMIRE PATRICIA L.
Published: March 2007

Rhetorical studies of genre have investigated the complex relationships between a range of genre activities and their social, historical, and institutional contexts. However, the temporal dimensions of these contexts require further specification and explicit examination. This article offers a first step toward conceptualizing the temporal dimensions of rhetorical contexts and considering the interplay between those dimensions and genre activity. First, the author reviews how temporality has figured in rhetorical studies of genre through the notions of kairos and temporal exigence. She then presents two models of time, “clock time” and “process time,” as a means for representing the temporal dimensions of rhetorical contexts and genre activity. Finally, the author examines the interplay between these temporal models and genre by analyzing a nurse practitioner's communicative interaction with two patients. By conceptualizing and examining the relationship between time and genre, this article adds to our understanding of genre as situated social action.
Rhetorical Invention in Design
Authors: HALLER CYNTHIA R.
Published: March 2007

Though scholars have begun to explore how texts mediate design, little is known about rhetorical invention in design. To investigate how heuristics used for rhetorical invention and design might be related, the author analyzed how one disciplinary design heuristic, the information system cliché, influenced the production of both a computer system and a specification text for the system. The cliché was used to generate design proposals, which designers evaluated using at least three criteria: projected context of use, correspondence between the proposals and their textual inscriptions, and system coherence. Results indicate that disciplinary heuristics and rhetorical topics overlap in design; however, the rhetorical character of disciplinary heuristics is obscured in textual representations of the design. Both types of heuristic serve as interpretive instruments and are used dialogically to develop the parts of a design or text within the context of the whole.
Frameworks for the Study of Writing in Organizational Contexts
Authors: HARRISON TERESA M.
Published: March 2007

This essay constructs frameworks for understanding how organizations may function as rhetorical contexts. Initially, traditional and modern approaches to rhetorical context are compared and conclusions are drawn about where organizations, as a form of context, may fit within each. Then two approaches to organizational theory that have implications for the study and practice of writing are elaborated.
Existential there
Authors: HUCKIN THOMAS N. , PESANTE LINDA HUTZ
Published: March 2007

Although many writers depend on guidelines for help in using language properly and effectively, those guidelines typically lack empirical justification and, as a result, are sometimes oversimplified or even misconceived. In this article, we illustrate this point by examining the guideline that tells writers not to use the existential, or “empty,” there. A 100,000-word survey of good writing shows that expert writers apparently ignore this guideline. Using a discourse-sensitive form of linguistic analysis, we explain why these violations of the rule occur. Expert writers use there for important linguistic and rhetorical purposes: to assert existence, to present new information, to introduce topics, and to summarize. Based on our findings, we claim that there is little justification for having a prescriptive rule against the existential there. We argue further that the methodology employed here, which relies on quantitative and qualitative analysis rather than on conventional wisdom, can and should be extended to other handbook rules.
Sources of Writing Block in Bilingual Writers
Authors: BETANCOURT FRANCISCO , PHINNEY MARIANNE
Published: March 2007

In their freshman year in college, Puerto Rican students take composition courses in both Spanish and English. Although the rhetorical structure of the final product, the composition, may respond to national writing styles in the two languages, studies show the composition process to be similar. Writing instructors in either language find similar problems in student compositions, regardless of the language code used. One of the difficulties students have in both languages is blocking, or apprehension about writing. Although some aspects of the composition process may be universal, we assumed that in bilingual writers the source of writing block depended on the language used. This article presents the results of a questionnaire designed to determine the sources of bilingual students' apprehension in writing by considering three groups of bilingual writers: graduate students in English, freshman English composition students, and freshman Spanish composition students. The results suggest some insights on the nature of blocking in a native language (Spanish) and a second language (English), which may then lead to ways of helping bilingual students to overcome blocking.
The Relationship between Content Knowledge and Topic Choice in Writing
Authors: GRADWOHL JANE M. , SCHUMACHER GARY M.
Published: March 2007

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the role of content knowledge on topic choice in writing. Children's knowledge on topics they wanted to write about (want topics), on topics they did not want to write about (don't-want topics), and on topics the teacher chose (teacher topics) was measured using Langer's topic-specific knowledge measure. Results showed that children had significantly more knowledge, as assessed by the fluency and combined knowledge measures, on the want topics compared to the don't-want topics. In addition, children had significantly more knowledge on the want topics than on the teacher topics. There was no significant difference in knowledge between the children's don't-want topics and the teacher topics. These findings not only demonstrate the significant role of content knowledge on one writing process, topic choice, but also add support to students' self-selection of writing topics.
The Powerful Pleonasm
Authors: DELAHUNTY GERALD P.
Published: March 2007

A review of a range of usage handbooks reveals that many manuals advise against the use of words, phrases, and sentence types on the basis of commonly held beliefs rather than of empirical studies of the characteristics of the items and the ways in which professional writers actually use them. One element castigated by the manuals is expletive it, particularly when followed by a form of the verb be. This study distinguishes three constructions which begin with it is (extrapositive, cleft, and inferential), examines their linguistic characteristics, notes differences in meaning and function between them and their expletiveless counterparts, and explores the uses made of them by writers of fiction and nonfiction. The study demonstrates that although conventionally meaningless, expletive it is introduces sentence types with pragmatic and textual properties of considerable value to writers. The constructions are associated with specific interpretations beyond their conventional meanings. These interpretations provide writers with resources for creating subtle and significant local textual effects.
The Notion of Giftedness and Student Expectations about Writing
Authors: PALMQUIST MICHAEL , YOUNG RICHARD
Published: March 2007

Research reported by Daly, Miller, and their colleagues suggests that writing apprehension is related to a number of factors we do not yet fully understand. This study suggests that included among those factors should be the belief that writing ability is a gift. Giftedness, as it is referred to in the study, is roughly equivalent to the Romantic notion of original genius. Results from a survey of 247 postsecondary students enrolled in introductory writing courses at two institutions indicate that higher levels of belief in giftedness are correlated with higher levels of writing apprehension, lower self-assessments of writing ability, lower levels of confidence in achieving proficiency in certain writing activities and genres, and lower self-assessments of prior experience with writing instructors. Significant differences in levels of belief in giftedness were also found among students who differed in their perceptions of the most important purpose for writing, with students who identified “to express your own feelings about something” as the most important purpose for writing having the highest mean level of belief in giftedness. Although the validity of the notion that writing ability is a special gift is not directly addressed, the results suggest that belief in giftedness may have deleterious effects on student writers.
Exorcising Demonolatry
Authors: CONNORS ROBERT J. , LUNSFORD ANDREA A.
Published: March 2007

Since the rise of college-level spelling instruction, pedagogies have been few, based primarily on “demon lists” of spelling words and injunctions to students about developing “informed doubt.” This study examines spelling instruction historically, then describes a large-scale analysis done in 1986 of the spelling errors found in 3,000 nationally gathered and stratified student essays. The result of this research is a new and somewhat unusual “demon list” indicating that the most commonly misspelled words are homophones, spellings based on pronunciation, and visual errors. The study then examines the changes wrought in student spelling by the advent of word processing with and without associated spell-checking, examining 100 word-processed essays with and 100 without spell-checking. This research indicates that word processing greatly increases the number of spelling errors unless spell-checking is used. The study concludes by exploring the question of what the future may hold for spelling pedagogies.
Rethinking Genre in School and Society
Authors: RUSSELL DAVID R.
Published: March 2007

The relation between writing in formal schooling and writing in other social practices is a central problem in writing research (e.g., critical pedagogy, writing in nonacademic settings, cognition in variable social contexts). How do macro-level social and political structures (forces) affect micro-level literate actions in classrooms and vice versa? To address these questions, the author synthesizes Yrjö Engeström's systems version of Vygotskian cultural-historical activity theory with Charles Bazerman's theory of genre systems. The author suggests that this synthesis extends Bakhtinian dialogic theory by providing a broader unit of analysis than text-as-discourse, wider levels of analysis than the dyad, and an expanded theory of dialectic. By tracing the intertextual relations among disciplinary and educational genre systems, through the boundary of classroom genre systems, one can construct a model of ways classroom writing is linked to writing in wider social practices and rethink such issues as agency, task representation, and assessment.
The Community Organization of Adult Education
Authors: Luke Robert A.
Published: March 2007

This is the final article in a series of three on the organization of adult education.1 Previous articles have been on the organizational relationship of public school adult education to the field and on the organization of adult education at the national level. In signing these articles Mr. Luke has used the title which identifies him as a member of the AEA staff. Mr. Luke serves in this capacity through the cooperation of the National Education Association, where he is employed as As sistant Director of the Division of Adult Education.
Identifying Midwest Foreign Policy Opinion Makers
Authors: Rogers William C.
Published: March 2007

It is hypothesized that a very small number of people constitute the attentive world affairs public. The Minnesota World Affairs Center, like other educational groups on world affairs, needs methods of efficiently identifying foreign policy opinion makers in their communities. The Minnesota Center therefore compiled lists of individuals residing in Minnesota towns and cities outside the Twin City area who read leading journals of public affairs, belong to world affairs organizations, and have attended world affairs meetings. A computer sorted out the individuals whose names appeared more than once on these lists. Conference and meeting invitations to the individuals so selected yielded a good early response.
A Study of Attitudinal Change Through Lecture-Discussion Workshops
Authors: Robinson Russell D. , Spaights Ernest
Published: March 2007

The fifty-city project Rearing Children of Good Will, sponsored by the National Conference of Christians and Jews and known in Milwaukee as Project Understanding, seeks to change parental attitudes and value systems believed to generate prejudice in children. Project Understanding's instructional methods include lectures, question-and-answer periods, small discussion groups, and a field trip. Although overall findings indicated no major trends or directions and random results were subject to interpretation, results do concur with other research indicating that education, income, age, and religion influence the probability of attitudinal change. This knowledge and evidence concerning methodological successes will influence future project planning, but many more answers to the problem of attitudinal change and appropriate methodologies are needed.
Toward a Theory of Practice
Authors: Mezirow Jack
Published: March 2007

This paper suggests a rationale and strategy for developing a research-based body of theory, indigenous to adult education and of practical utility to practitioners in program development, pro gram evaluation, training and in setting research priorities.

Epistemological and methodological considerations in the develop ment of a theory of practice are explored. Central among the former is the question of the nature of meaning as a construction of the individual in social interaction. Central among the latter are ways of understanding the reality of interaction in adult educational enterprise without distortions endemic to research methodology of the social sciences.

Glaser and Strauss have suggested a research approach useful for developing a theory of practice in adult education. This involves the systematic construction of an evolving and integrated body of inductively formulated generalizations by which the behavior of adults in educational situations may be understood and predicted.
Creative Memory: Five Suggestions for Categorization of Adult Learning
Authors: O'Hara Martin , Machnik Stanislaus , Morgenstern Gert , Tansey Charlotte , O'Connor Eric
Published: March 2007

The first section of this article centers around problems of translating into current research terms adult learning in the affec tive domain (art, poetry). The next urges experimentation with developing in the adult learner something akin to "historical method" in regard to his own learning processes. A third section arises as a question from one researcher's comparison of his clinical methodology as psychiatrist with his more participatory procedures as adult educator. (It is here that the research process underlying the article is described: pp. 39-42.) The next section conceives of some of Jung's unfinished questions as being handed on to Freire: those which bear upon determination of procedures valid for adult development. The fifth underlines the primacy of those experiences and questions which liberate, for adults, their own resources—implying that progress by researchers must have similar roots. "Creative memory" is thus a key to the authors' different approaches to the delicacy of categorization in adult-learning re search, and is the subject on which each hopes to engage other researchers in discussion.
A Factor Analytic Study of Attitudes Toward Human Fertility
Authors: Gaughran Edward , Struening Elmer L. , Raabe Gerhard , Muhlin Gregory
Published: March 2007

This study reported on the development and partial validation of scales measuring a complex of attitudes toward human fertility. A seventy item questionnaire was developed and administered to 728 college and graduate students. Factor analysis yielded three reliable, relatively independent attitude dimensions: Concern with Population Growth, Large Family Ideology and Rejection (vs. Acceptance) of Fertility Control. Validity was assessed by measur ing the extent to which attitude scores were influenced by three sets of tradition-related variables: Religion, Education-Occupation and Fertility Ideals. Multiple regression and correlation analysis showed traditional influence to be fairly strong and consistent on Large Family Ideology and Rejection of Fertility Control, but weak and inconsistent on Concern with Population Growth. The differential influence of tradition on different aspects of fertility attitudes is discussed with respect to the development of a com prehensive population education curriculum.
Knowledge and Skills for the Adult Educator: a Delphi Study
Authors: Rossman Mark H. , Bunning Richard L.
Published: March 2007

A Delphi study attempted to assess the knowledge and skills which would be needed by adult educators of the future in successfully fulfilling their roles. The sample population was 141 university professors of adult educa tion from the United States and Canada who completed a series of four questionnaires. Significant data for the study included 101 skills and knowledge statements, modal consensus as to the priority of the statements, and minority opinions from those persons who did not join consensus. Rated most highly were "skill in diagnosing educational needs of the in dividual," "skill in continuous self-improvement," "skill in communicating," "skill in encouraging creativity," and "skill as a compe tent instructor." Examples of most highly rated knowledge statements in cluded, "knowledge of the ever changing nature of the adult and his needs," "knowledge of himself," "knowledge of the process of change," "knowledge of the principles of adult education," and "knowledge of learn ing theories in practice."

Higher rated skills and knowledge were found to fall into six general categories: the adult educator, the field of adult education, the adult learner, the adult educational environment, programming, and process. The study also elicited opinion as to the type of learning experiences that would be most effective in gaining the skills and knowledge which were rated as "highest priority."
Education Participation Scale Factor Structure for Older Adults
Authors: Boshier Roger , Riddell Gail
Published: March 2007

Eighty-four older adults who had retired from the workforce and were enrolled in Vancouver adult education programs completed a short form of the Education Participation Scale (E.P.S.), from which items known to be job-related had been deleted. The new version of the E.P.S. was factor analyzed to examine the extent to which previously identified factors would re-emerge. The E.P.S. clustered into four independent factors: Escape/Stimulation, Social Welfare, Social Contact and Cognitive Interest. The extent to which the emergent factors were suitable for use with older adults was determined through a concurrent validation process. E.P.S. fac tors were correlated with scores on a Social Participation Scale, an Adjust ment to Later Life Scale, and a Life Satisfaction Index. Three factors were significantly correlated with one or more of these measures. The psychological foundations of the Social Contact factor remained as elusive with this group of older adults as they had in previous studies involving younger participants. The subjects were most "motivated" by Cognitive In terest and Social Contact. Escape/Stimulation was a very weak "motivator."
Self Esteem, Sex-Role Orientation, and Perceived Spouse Support for a Return To School
Authors: Rice Joy K.
Published: March 2007

Sixty mature women seeking continuing education counseling were given measures of self-esteem, sex role orientation, and spouse support (SS) for a return to school or work. Emotional SS was measured in terms of the frequency of the praise, encouragement and accomodation by the spouse. Instrumental SS was defined as the spouse's contribution to the total family output in the areas of housework, childcare, and social responsibilities. Women who were low on self- esteem or non-traditional in sex role orientation projected significantly greater in strumental SS upon their return to school than did women who were high on self- esteem or traditional in sex role orientation. Self-esteem and sex role orientation, however, were unrelated to the actual instrumental SS that the subjects reported receiving from their husbands.
Interest in Education Among Adults With Short Previous Formal Schooling
Authors: Bergsten Urban
Published: March 2007

The participation rate in adult education in Sweden by people with short previous formal education is not as high as desired. To better understand why this group of people does not par ticipate in adult studies one has to analyze their actual life situation, where the work role and the leisure role stand out as most important. The expectancy/valence theory was applied to the in terest in adult education by means of interviews with 1080 persons with nine or less years of for mal schooling. The results pointed to an integrated relationship between work and leisure. The interest in adult education for the present job was positively related to work satisfaction. The op posite relationship was found between interest in adult education for a new job and work satisfac tion. With respect to non-work-related adult education the educational interest exhibited a neutral relationship to work satisfaction. Educational interest was found to be a part of a leisure pattern already consisting of "cultural" activities and high organizational activity. The results in dicate that changes are necessary in working life in order to prepare people for a more enriching and stimulating leisure and that in order to reach new clients, programs must be based on values and attitudes of the potential participants.
Havighurst's Adult Developmental Tasks: a Study of Their Importance Relative To Income, Age and Sex
Authors: Merriam Sharan , Mullins Larry
Published: March 2007

Robert Havighurst has delineated developmental tasks for various stages of life from infancy through older adulthood. Although Havighurst's study is widely acknowledged by educators as a basis for planned learning experiences, apparently no studies exist which have assessed the saliency of his adulthood tasks for today's men and women. In this study, 540 adults representing three income levels (lower, middle, upper) and three age groups (young, middle-aged, older) were asked to rank, on a five point Likert-type scale, how important each of the adulthood tasks was for them. Means and standard deviations for each task were calculated for each sample subcategory, i.e., for males and females, three income levels, and three age groups. The means were rank ordered and the Kruskal-Wallis "Analysis of Var iance" by Ranks statistical test used. Findings suggest that while the tasks were considered important by most of the subgroups within the sample, women ranked the tasks as signifi cantly more important than did men, and middle income respondents ranked 16 out of 21 tasks higher than did lower or upper income adults. Finally, only older adults found their age-specific tasks to be more important than tasks of other life stages. The relevance of these findings for adult education is discussed.
The Idea of Lifelong Learning in the Chautauqua Movement
Authors: Stubblefield Harold W.
Published: March 2007

The Chautauqua Assembly was distinguished not only for its contribution to adult education programs but also for its contribution to educational thought: learning should be lifelong. The Chautauqua founders regarded education for adults as both a right and duty. This belief derived from three sources: (1) a religious basis, (2) a theory of self-culture, and (3) the right of each per son to have access to knowledge. To this ideological bases was coupled a theory of adult educa tion, namely, adulthood is a unique time for learning. Among the elements of this theory of adult education were these: (1) adults can learn, (2) education should be extended beyond formal school years, (3) life is a school, (4) agencies should cooperate in promoting adult learning, and (5) education should bring adults into contact with current thought on scientific and social issues. This article concludes that Chautauqua, more than many of the other popular education move ments for adults between 1865 and 1914, addressed concerns that have proved relevant to the adult education movement for nearly an entire century.
An Analysis of the Role of Special Interest Groups in the Formation of the Cooperative Extension Service
Authors: Fox Robert David
Published: March 2007

In this description and analysis of the political role of special interest groups in the formation of the Cooperative Extension Service the events and activities leading up to the passage of the Smith-Lever Act are examined. Attention is paid to the growing formalization of early extension education activities and to the increasing collaboration among special interest groups from agriculture, education and private enterprise in support of a national extension program. The conflict over the Smith-Lever Act in Congress is reviewed, and the significant innovations contained in the Smith-Lever Act are examined. Finally, the author ization of the Cooperative Extension Service and the establishment of a formal relationship between federal, state, and county governments, and the university signal the beginning of a trend towards bringing higher education into the public domain as a political actor.
Building Upon the Theoretical Debate: A Critical Review of the Empirical Studies of Mezirow's Transformative Learning Theory
Authors: Taylor Edward W.
Published: March 2007

This critical literature review is an attempt to build upon the theoretical debate of Mezirow's transformative learning theory by investigating what the empirical studies have to say about a perspective transformation. The review finds much support for Mezirow's theory, but at the same time suggests a need to reconceptualize the process of a perspective transformation. The review discloses a learning process that needs to recognize to a greater degree the significant influence of context, the varying nature of the catalyst of the process, the minimization of the role of critical reflection and increased role of other ways of knowing and relationships, and an overall broadening of the definitional outcome of a perspective transformation. Research needs to continue, particularly in the areas of cultural diversity, the fostering of transformative learning in the classroom, and the nature of and relationship between critical reflection and other ways of knowing. Designs of research including other methods beyond interviews, such as observations and content analysis in an ongoing educational context, would also be valuable.
Predicting Role Conflict, Overload and Contagion in Adult Women University Students with Families and Jobs
Authors: Home Alice M.
Published: March 2007

Many adult women studying at universities face difficulties related to their multiple roles, yet little is known about vulnerable groups or supportive responses. This study of 443 women with jobs and families enrolled in adult education, social work, or nursing identified to what extent life situations, institutional supports, and perceived demands and support systems predict role conflict, overload, and contagion. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify predictors. Income was the only life situation predictor, with lower income increasing vulnerability to role conflict. Perceived intensity of student demands was the strongest predictor of conflict, overload and contagion, with family and job demands next. Use of distance education eased conflict and contagion but some other university adaptations may increase vulnerability. Adult educators should press for increased access to adequate financial support and distance education, while continuing to evaluate the usefulness of other institutional supports for different nontraditional students.
Ethnic Differences in the Imaginary Audience
Authors: Markstrom Carol A. , Mullis Ronald L.
Published: March 2007

Elkind and Bowen's study was used as a basis for examining ethnic differences in the Imaginary Audience Scale (IAS) and its two subscales, the Abiding Self (AS) and the Transient Self (TS). Eighty-five Sioux and 100 Caucasian adolescents in the 7th, 8th, 11th, and 12th grades were administered the IAS. Some of Elkind and Bowen's findings were replicated. Ethnic differences were found in correlations between the IAS and measures of self-concept. No ethnic differences in IAS scores were found for younger adolescents; however, older Caucasian adolescents had lower AS scores than older Sioux adolescents. The need for more research on the IAS with different racial and cultural groups was discussed.
The Relationship of First Intercourse to Later Sexual Functioning Concerns of Adolescents
Authors: Koch Patricia Barthalow
Published: March 2007

First intercourse is often viewed as a pivotal behavior. The present study was designed to examine the relationship of factors from the first inter course experience to later sexual functioning concerns of adolescents. The sample was composed of college-aged women (N = 412) and men (N = 261) who completed a comprehensive, self-report questionnaire. Chi-square analysis indicated that trends in adolescent sexual behavior identified in the 1960s and 1970s were continuing, if not accelerating, in the 1980s. Gender convergence was found for many aspects of first coitus. An increase in reported sexual functioning concerns of young people was also found. Analysis of covariance indicated that factors representing the affective dimensions of first intercourse (i.e., relation ship with partner, major reason for engaging in coitus, and evaluation of experience) were significantly related to more sexual functioning con cerns than the structural factor of age at first coitus.
Family Status of Low-Income Adolescent Mothers
Authors: Mayfield-Brown Lorraine
Published: March 2007

In this investigation of young mothers'family status, the hypotheses were keyed to expect racial and age differences. The data used in this study come from a 1978 baseline survey of low-income adolescents who were eligible for the Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Program (YIEPP). Using this national stratified random sample, this analysis examined the family structure and support of 3,832 young women, age 15 to 19 years. Two main results emerged: First, the event of becoming a mother during her school years creates for a young woman an abrupt transition to adult status; second, the variation in the status transition and the family supports is influenced by both race and age. White mothers were significantly more likely than are Black young women to choose the pathway of early marriage, while Black mothers continue to receive family support.
Deidentification in Two-Child Families
Authors: Neaves Rosa D. , Crouch Joyce G.
Published: March 2007

This study investigated deidentification in relationship to self-ratings, achievement test performance, and grade point average offirst-born and second-born siblings. A sample of 47 adolescent sibling pairs from two-child families rated self and sibling on 13 semantic differential concepts. Results indicated that both first-born and second-born adolescents who judged themselves to be higher achieving that their siblings had higher self-definitions on evaluative and activity scales than did those who judged themselves equally or lower achieving. On achievement measures, however, first-borns who rated themselves as higher achieving than their sibling tended to have significantly higher achievement test scores and higher grade point averages than did other groups, but second-borns tended to have higher scores on these measures when they judged themselves to be equally achieving. These findings were interpreted as support for social comparison theory and as suggesting that intellectual performance may be more salient to first-borns than to second-borns.
Self and Identity in Late Adolescence
Authors: Blustein David L. , Palladino Donna E.
Published: March 2007

This study sought to provide a theoretical and empirical integration of the recent work in the psychoanalytic study of the self with the literature on the identity formation process in late adolescence. The general hypothesis of this study was that greater levels of self-cohesion would be predictive of an adaptive resolution of the identity formation process. Measures of self-cohesion (goal instability and superiority) and ego identity status (the diffusion, moratorium, foreclosure, and identity-achieved statuses) were administered to 254 college students from a large northeastern state university. A canonical correlation analysis revealed that goal directedness and4 to a somewhat lesser extent, a reliance on less grandiose means of self-expression were generally related to the identity achieved status; some notable gender differences were also observed. The authors relate results of this study to further directions in theory and research on adolescent development.
Social Context Differences in the Relation Between Self-Esteem and Self-Concept During Late Adolescence
Authors: Greene A. L. , Reed Elizabeth
Published: March 2007

Integrating dynamic interactionism and life course institutionalization theory, this study examined social context differences in the relation between self-esteem and self-concept. The sample consisted of 39 male and female college youths and 43 male and female noncollege youths. As predicted, social context significalntly differentiated self-concept anid self-esteem: College youths were higher than noncollege youths in self-esteem, adjustment, achievement, and agency. Further, college youths were more homogeneous than noncollege youths in self-esteem, adjustment, and achievement. Finally, social context was found to differentiate the relation between self-concept and self-esteem: Whereas agency predicted self-esteem among college youths, achievement predicted self-esteem among noncollege youths. The present findings are discussed in terms of the necessary distinction between evaluative (self-esteem) and connotative (self-concept) aspects of self-perception, as well as the importance of incorporating social context in developmental accounts of personality and social cognitive processes.
First Premarital Intercourse Among Mexican-American and Anglo-American Adolescent Women
Authors: Slonim-Nevo Vered
Published: March 2007

A secondary analysis from a cross-sectional survey on the sexual behavior of Mexican-American andA nglo adolescent women was conducted using the methodology of survival analysis. The study examined whether socioeconomic factors or subcultural factors account for observed ethnic differences in the incidence of first premarital intercourse. Under the between-group analysis, a series of regression analyses was conducted in which the independent variables were entered one at a time to determine whether the gross impact of ethnicity on the incidence of first premarital intercourse was reduced. Under the intragroup analysis, the impact of acculturation -independent of socioeconomic factors -on the incidence of first intercourse experience among Mexican Americans was assessed. The results supported the model of subcultural values: Ethnic differences in socioeconomic circumstances alone do not accountfor the observed ethnic differences in the incidence offirst premarital intercourse; however, cultural differences relating to premarital sexual activity do partially account for this gap.
Reducing Alcohol and Other Drug Use by Strengthening Community, Family, and Youth Resiliency
Authors: Johnson Knowlton , Strader Ted , Berbaum Michael , Bryant Denise , Bucholtz Gregory , Collins David , Noe Tim
Published: March 2007

The Creating Lasting Connections 5-year demonstration project was designed to delay onset and reduce frequency of alcohol and other drug use among high-risk 12-through 14-year-old youth by positively impacting resiliency factors in three domains: church community, family, and individual (youth). Major program components included church community mobilization, parent/guardian training, youth training, early intervention services, and follow-up case management services. The program was implemented in multiple church communities in rural, suburban, and inner-city settings. The evaluation employed a true experimental design with three repeated measures over a I-yearperiod. Results showed that the program successfully engaged church communities in substance abuse prevention activities and produced positive direct effects on family and youth resiliency, as well as moderating effects on onset and frequency of alcohol and other drug use. Findings that are consistent with the program message and significant learnings are highlighted.
Perception and Reasoning Abilities among American, Japanese, and Chinese Adolescents
Authors: Li Xiaoming , Sano Hideki , Merwin Jack C.
Published: March 2007

This study was designed (a) to examine whether female and male adolescents in the United States, Japan, and China differ significantly in their scores on measures of perception and reasoning, and (b) to determine whether there are similar factor structures of perception and reasoning aptitudes among these groups. A multiple aptitude test battery consisting of six tests (three designed to measure perception and three to measure reasoning) was administered to 854 eighth- and ninth-grade students from the three nations. Analysis of variance and confirmatory factor analysis of factorial invariance models were conducted to explore similarities and differences in means andfactor structures based on country and gender. Although some differences in the mean performance of adolescents from the three nations were noted on perception and reasoning tasks, there was remarkable similarity in the factorial composition ofperformance underlying tests ofperception and reasoning ability. The obtained findings are discussed in light of gender and cultural differences of adolescents from three countries.
Parental Involvement and Adolescent Development
Authors: Otto Luther B. , Atkinson Maxine P.
Published: March 2007

A series of structural equation models was specified to examine whether parental involvement predicts adolescents' development, controlling on family socioeconomic statuses, family composition, mothers 'work status, race, and gender Three measures of adolescent development and two dimensions of parental involvement were entered in the equations. The measures of development were grade point average, a standardized achievement test score, and an indicator of misbehavior The dimensions of parental involvement were connection (three measures) and regulation (fourmeasures). The study was based on data from high school juniors (N = 362) in two county school systems in North Carolina. Analyses consist of descriptive statistics, Cronbach s alpha, and ordinary least-squares (OLS) regression. The findings provided equivocal support for the hypotheses, which was consistent with reports from earlier research, in which results differed depending on the operational definitions of both parental involvement and outcome measures of adolescent development. Directions for further research were outlined.
Perceptions of the School Psychological Environment in Predictingadolescent Mothers’ Educational Expectations
Authors: Kalil Ariel
Published: March 2007

Drawing on theories of educational motivation, this longitudinal study investigates how perceptions of the school psychological environment predict change over time in educational expectations among 81 low-income adolescent mothers. Results suggest that over and above the significant role of baseline educational attainment and expectations, teenage mothers’perceptions of differential treatment at school predict expectations for educational attainment measured 1 year later. Specifically, teens who report that teachers treat them as less smart than they really are and who discourage them from taking certain classes due to their status as mothers show a decline in educational expectations over time.
Phase Control of Ultradian Feeding Rhythms in the Common Vole ( Microtus arvalis): The Roles of Light and the Circadian System
Authors: Gerkema Menno P. , Daan Serge , Wilbrink Marieke , Hop Martina W. , van der Leest Floris
Published: March 2007

In their ultradian (2- to 3-hr) feeding rhythm, common voles show intraindividual synchrony from day to day, as well as interindividual synchrony between members of the population, even at remote distances. This study addresses the question of how resetting of the ultradian rhythm, a prerequisite for such synchronization, is achieved. Common voles were subjected to short light-dark cycles (1 hr darkness with light varying between 0.7 and 2.5 hr); to T cycles (long light-dark cycles in the circadian range—16 hr darkness and 3-13 hr light); to light pulses (15 min) during different circadian and ultradian phases; and to addition of D2O to the drinking water (25%). Short light-dark cycles and D2O were also applied to voles without circadian rhythmicity, after lesions of the suprachiasmatic nuclei.