bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Computer‐graphics and the literary construct: a learning method
Authors: Henry Avril
Published: March 2003

This paper describes a third‐year undergraduate module, Text Through Images (TTI; known at first as Texts with Computers) which ran for some years in the School of English, University of Exeter, UK. Instead of using only words, TTI students made their own computer graphics both to discover and to describe literary structures in texts of their choice. The results were surprising: whatever their “academic” ability, students on this course regularly produced genuinely original literary perceptions, and their natural creativity was released. The module's innovative methods are eminently transferable to other disciplines. This paper is designed to be read in conjunction with a website: for further details, go to http://www.blackwellpublishers.co.uk/asp/journal.asp?ref=0007‐1013 presenting a selection of students' graphics produced on the course; these appear by generous permission of their makers, who hold copyright.

The reasons for the module's success are elusive. Perhaps students feel unfettered by the attitudes associated with traditional verbal expression, the absence of preconceptions about the new process enabling them to bypass old habits of thought. Perhaps the interplay of word and image is particularly fruitful because images and words activate different areas of the brain. It may be that the computer creates the illusion of distance between design and designer, so that the latter feels less personally exposed than when drawing on paper. Perhaps success lies in the combination of individual freedom and on‐screen group work, or on the way in which students are enabled to make small but publishable original discoveries. Educational psychologists may be able to explain why the mix works (it has been suggested that it represents a “constructivist/generative learning strategy that Dave Jonassen terms ‘elaboration’”) but more importantly, teachers may find the model useful. What interests me about the module is not the structure of the teaching, but the way in which the use of diagramming apparently enables the learner productively to bypass previous mental conditioning about how literature works, and what is acceptable in analysing it.
The use of interactive video in teaching teachers: an evaluation of a link with a primary school
Authors: Kinnear Heather , McWilliams Sandra , Caul Leslie
Published: March 2003

This paper presents an evaluation of the use of videoconferencing in learning and teaching in a United Kingdom higher education institution involved in initial teacher education. Students had the opportunity to observe naturalistic teaching practices without physically being present in the classroom. The study consisted of semi‐structured interviews with the co‐ordinator of the link, the head of ICT services in Stranmillis University College and the teacher of the classroom being observed. Students were invited to complete an online questionnaire. The views of the students, the co‐ordinator of the link, the teacher of the classroom being observed and the head of ICT services in Stranmillis University College were then triangulated to gain an overall view of the effectiveness of the videoconferencing link. Interviews suggested students benefited in terms of pedagogy. In the early stages of the project, the teacher thought it acted as a form of classroom control. Technical problems were encountered initially and camera control was modified in the light of these. The online questionnaire suggested that students viewed this experience in a positive way and were impressed with the content, technical quality, and potential benefits of the use of this example of new technologies.
Advocates, Critics and Union Involvement in Workplace Partnership: Irish Airports
Authors: Roche William K. , Geary John F.
Published: March 2003

The Irish Airports Authority and its unions have developed a radical partnership initiative which seeks to involve staff and unions in operational and strategic decision–making. The initiative allows for an empirical assessment of arguments regarding the effects of partnership on union organization and strength, and on members’ commitment to unions. Drawing on research conducted over a four–year period, we argue that partnership was of considerable benefit to workers and unions, but that new tensions and challenges have arisen. On balance, the evidence provides modest support for the theoretical arguments of advocates of partnership.
Competence and Competitive Advantage: Towards a Dynamic Model
Authors: Bogner William C. , Thomas Howard , McGee John
Published: March 2003

Over the last ten years the concept of ‘competence’ has emerged as a central concept for competitive strategy. Several rich theoretical streams have contributed an extensive array of frameworks, definitions and papers using the concept. There is now a need to integrate these many contributions. Indeed, some of the frustration expressed recently by academics may be due to the large volume of conversation and the low level of integration. A concept that is considered so useful that many writers have incorporated it in their work will be of little value if it takes on different meanings for every use. If competence is to be used to explain relationships among variables and to build richer understandings of the roots of competitive advantage, then the field needs to engage in a serious conversation that attempts to focus this concept. Competence needs to be understood in a way that is faithful to its theoretical roots, allows the multiple dimensions that underpin competitive advantage to be meaningfully integrated and is specific enough that meaningful differences can emerge when used as a variable in empirical research. This paper seeks to begin a conversation toward that end by presenting a conceptualization that meets all of these requirements. The paper builds its conceptualization around satisfying the elements of a dynamic model of the relationship between competence and competitive advantage.
Why do Managers Do What They Do? Reconciling Evidence and Theory in Accounts of Managerial Work
Authors: Hales Colin
Published: March 2003

This article seeks to show that there has been surprisingly little interest in developing a causal explanation of the consistently documented common characteristics of managerial work and attempts to sketch out such an explanation. It is argued that researchers in the field have either contented themselves with description and correlation or have given priority to explaining variations, whilst theories of management have tended to suggest that managerial behaviour can be inferred, unproblematically, from the character of the broader management process rather than engaging with the evidence on these behaviours. Even recent and explicit attempts to conceptualize managerial work have not satisfactorily woven theory with evidence. The outline of an explanatory account which is offered attempts to link the common characteristics of managerial work to the ambiguous and problematic nature of managerial ‘responsibility’ and the way in which all managers both draw upon and, by their actions, reproduce resources, cognitive rules and moral rules, from within the social systems in which they are located, which define and facilitate that responsibility. Well‐documented generic managerial activities, substantive areas of work and characteristic features of managerial work are all shown to be accountable in these terms.
Perceived Environmental Uncertainty, Entry Mode Choice and Satisfaction with EC‐MNC Performance
Authors: Brouthers Lance Eliot , Brouthers Keith D. , Werner Steve
Published: March 2003

Previous theoretical and empirical research provides substantial support for a contingency approach toward international entry‐mode selection. Similarly, additional empirical research supports the notion that different international ownership‐based entry modes tend to be associated with varying performance levels. In this study we provide an initial attempt to use Werner, Brouthers and Brouthers' (1996) multiple measures of Perceived Environmental Uncertainty (PEU) to determine the entry mode choices of firms and link these risk‐adjusted mode choices to managerial satisfaction with firm performance. We hypothesize and find that firms which make PEU risk‐adjusted entry mode choices are significantly more satisfied with their firm's performance than firms whose entry mode choices cannot be predicted using multiple PEU risk measures.
On Strategy and Management Control: The Importance of Classifying the Strategy of the Business
Authors: Kald Magnus , Nilsson Fredrik , Rapp Birger
Published: March 2003

The point of departure for this paper is a number of contingency‐theory studies on the relationship between business strategy and the design and use of management control. In these studies strategy has been operationalized in different ways – a major reason why the findings are ambiguous and difficult to integrate. Thus there is a strong need for a common frame of reference for classifying business strategy. In view of the multifaceted nature of the concept of strategy, however, it is neither desirable nor possible to arrive at a single method of classification that would be appropriate in all situations. Rather, the task is to integrate different strategic variables such as strategic pattern, strategic position and strategic mission. In this paper we show how these three variables may be assumed to influence, and be influenced by, what characterizes changes in strategy and how business units manage their product offerings. Unlike most previous studies in the field, this paper discusses how the strategic variables taken together may be assumed to influence the classification of strategy and thus the design and use of the management‐control system. Our deductive analysis, and the hypotheses used in connection with it, show that studies which consider only one strategic variable may lead to erroneous conclusions about the relationship between strategy and management control.
Punctuated and Continuous Change: The UK Water Industry
Authors: Dean Alison , Carlisle Ysanne , Baden‐Fuller Charles
Published: March 2003

Punctuated change is usually defined as a discontinuity in organizational development and is traditionally associated with environmental turbulence; it is also associated with step changes in the performance of an organization. Starting from Gersick (1991), we discuss the foundations of the punctuatedÃincremental change paradox, and lay out hypotheses regarding the moments when such change is adopted and its economic effect. We explore these ideas through a study of the UK water industry: a contrived macro experiment. Following privatization, the ten major companies all faced similar pressures to adjust, but adopted widely differing responses. We find that the response to privatization was not always punctuated change, and that punctuated change processes were not necessarily superior to continuous processes. We contrast our findings with Romanelli and Tushman (1994), exploring the reasons why our results are so dissimilar.
Approaches to Stimulating Change in Mature Insurance Companies
Authors: Johne Axel , Davies Robert
Published: March 2003

The findings reported in this paper address problems confronting chief executives and functional specialists involved in turnaround situations. A comparison is undertaken of companies in which innovation was successfully started – called ‘pacesetters’– with companies which were less successful. Starting innovation was an important precursor for profitability in all the companies studied. Without change there would be no tomorrow. In pacesetter companies, chief executives used an unconventional approach to shock staff into action. They ruthlessly opened minds to market threats and opportunities. After administering shock treatment, they carefully returned responsibility to first line managers through a deliberate ‘managerial shift’. They insisted that the new style of managing they introduced be market‐focused. In contrast, chief executives of companies which were less successful at starting innovation encouraged debate on alternative strategies as a prelude to any action. This apparently more logical approach led to frequent disagreements which sapped employee motivation. It lacked the urgency of an approach firmly grounded in the realities of the market place.
When Norms Collide: Learning under Organizational Hypocrisy
Authors: Huzzard Tony , Östergren Katarina
Published: March 2003

Most conceptualizations of organizational learning are generally underpinned by some notion of unitarism. Theories typically assume shared visions, values, conceptions or identities. This paper, however, considers the dilemmas faced in organizations where identities and visions are not shared, and where conceptions and ideologies are diverse and possibly in conflict. Such organizations, here called hypocrisies, are characterized by divergent norms and stakeholder identities. Seeing learning as changes in shared conceptions between actors at different levels, a case is presented of change in a multi–norm white–collar trade union. This shows the difficulty of promoting unitaristically conceived notions of organizational learning from the centre and that learning is problematic where power is dispersed within the organization. This challenges the view that learning organizations can be associated with empowerment. The paper concludes by arguing for the setting–aside of unitaristic assumptions of organizational learning and, instead, conceiving interventions in terms of local learning arenas for democratic dialogue in a context of organizational diversity.
Economic Performance or Electoral Necessity? Evaluating the System of Voluntary Income to Political Parties
Authors: Fisher Justin
Published: March 2003

Whilst the public funding of political parties is the norm in western democracies, its comprehensive introduction has been resisted in Britain. Political and electoral arrangements in Britain require parties to function and campaign on a regular basis, whilst their income follows cycles largely related to general elections. This article shows that the best predictor of party income is the necessity of a well-funded general election campaign rather than party performance. As a result, income can only be controlled by parties to a limited degree, which jeopardises their ability to determine their own financial position and fulfil their functions as political parties.
Equality, Pluralism, Universality: Current Concerns in Normative Theory
Authors: Phillips Anne
Published: March 2003

This article reviews recent debates in normative theory. It argues that work on equality has bifurcated in a disturbing way, with much of the work on economic equality focusing on the principles that should regulate the distribution of goods between individuals, and much of the work on social equality dealing with patterns of oppression that affect the relationship between marginal and dominant groups. The first literature has been relatively indifferent to the group nature of contemporary inequality, while the second mirrors this failing by its lack of interest in the distribution of economic resources. The implications of cultural pluralism have also contributed to debates about the status of normative theory and the basis for making universal normative claims.
Tocqueville, Collingwood, History and Extending the Moral Community
Authors: Boucher David
Published: March 2003

No one in the English-speaking world has done more to establish the autonomy and validity of history as a form of knowledge, integral to our self-understanding, both individually and collectively, and to our understanding of others, whether they are distant in time and mental outlook, or contemporary but nevertheless different, than R. G. Collingwood. Indeed, it has recently been said that he set the agenda for all Anglophone post-war discussion of problems in the philosophy of history. This is a somewhat modest assessment of his impact because it ignores the extent to which he also had a profound influence on the intellectual giants of the continental hermeneutic tradition, Bultmann, Gadamer, Pannenberg, Lonergan and Ricoeur. In this article I explore the extent to which Collingwood advances our understanding of the process by which the moral community can be extended to embrace common principles such as fundamental human rights, while respecting human differences and cultural identities quite different from our own. I argue that in addressing these questions he explicitly rejected relativism, without subscribing to the Hegelian notion of an objective rationality.
The Political Thought of Isaiah Berlin
Authors: Kelly Duncan
Published: March 2003

Typically evaluated for the merits or otherwise of his famous account of ‘value pluralism’, Isaiah Berlin's more general political thought is less often discussed. However, broader reflection sheds light on three crucial elements necessary for a proper understanding of Berlin's work. First, it shows the importance and context of his analysis of Marx and Marxism in providing the basis for his distinction between pluralism and monism. Secondly, through his criticisms of Marxism, Berlin's political sympathy for a moderate nationalism, something also reflected in his personal considerations regarding Jewish identity, can more easily be gauged. Thirdly, and in conclusion, a combination of this political preference and the ‘pluralism–monism’ dichotomy offers an explanation as to why Berlin wrote the history of political ideas as he did.
The Anatomy of Liberal Support in Britain, 1974–1997
Authors: Russell Andrew , Fieldhouse Ed , MacAllister Iain
Published: March 2003

This article uses data from the British Election Study series since 1974 and qualitative data from interviews with key party personnel to investigate the social and political basis of Liberal support in Britain. There are three main sections to the article: the first deals with the social and demographic profile of the Liberal vote, while the second examines the political characteristics of its supporters. In the final section these findings are used to assess the Liberal Democrats' electoral strategy at the 2001 General Election and beyond. We find that Liberals tend to be drawn from a similar social background to Conservative supporters (particularly in term of class), but politically there has been an increasingly close relationship between the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party.
Persistence of Nominal and Real Variables under Fixed and Floating Exchange Rates: Evidence from Greece, 1954–1992
Authors: Kalyvitis Sarantis , Lazaretou Sophia
Published: March 2003

This paper examines the persistence of Greek nominal and real variables under the Bretton Woods system and the post‐1975 floating rate system. Two non‐parametric measures of persistence are employed. The first is Cochrane's variance ratio test, put forward in 1988, which allows the decomposition of a series into a random walk and a stationary component; and the second is the modified rescaled range statistic, put forward by Lo in 1991, which tests for the existence of long‐term dependence. Empirical findings suggest that some of the variables under consideration exhibit a higher persistence under floating while for the rest of them the tests do not indicate any significant change.
Organizational Form and Expense Preference: Spanish Experience
Authors: Hasan Iftekhar , Lozano–Vivas Ana
Published: March 2003

This article investigates the effect of alternative ownership structures, stock versus mutual, on the cost of production of Spanish depository institutions. By introducing a stochastic frontier analysis in estimating the best–practiced expense–preference behaviour, the empirical approach adjusts for the possibility that the two sectors of the banking industry employ different production technologies and finds evidence that is consistent with expense–preference behaviour by the mutual savings banks.
The Effect of the Quasi–market on the Efficiency–equity Trade–off in the Secondary School Sector
Authors: Bradley Steve , Taylor Jim
Published: March 2003

Britain’s education system was radically transformed during the 1990s following the Education Reform Act (1988). The primary objective of these reforms was to raise educational standards through the creation of a quasi–market based upon greater parental choice and the transfer of control over resources from local education authorities to schools. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of the quasi–market on efficiency and equity in the secondary education sector in England during the 1990s. Two primary questions are addressed. Has the quasi–market led to an improvement in efficiency in the secondary education sector? Has the quasi–market had any adverse consequences on the social segregation of pupils between schools? Using data obtained from the Schools’ Census and the School Performance Tables, we find strong evidence that the quasi–market has led to a substantial improvement in efficiency (as measured by a school’s exam performance and by the productivity of staff) during the 1990s. The same market forces have led to a greater social segregation of pupils between schools.
Shareholders and Corporate Community Involvement in Britain
Authors: Clarke Julia
Published: March 2003

Corporate community involvement is attracting increasing interest in Britain, but what do shareholders feel about this use of company assets? This timely survey of top UK corporate donors provides interesting data on current practice and explores the degree to which shareholders are consulted. The author is a member of the Department of Business Studies in the Faculty of Management and Business of The Manchester Metropolitan University, Aytoun Building, Aytoun Street, Manchester M1 3GH; e–mail j.clarke@mmu.ac.uk.
Native Land Rights in Australia
Authors: Davison Craig A.
Published: March 2003

How do aboriginal traditional land rights fare in the face of modern business? “Belatedly, Australia is dealing with a major human rights issue it has attempted to sweep under the rug for 200 years”. The author is completing his MBA at London Business School and is a mining engineer of Australian origin.
The Re‐emergence of Sweatshops
Authors: Khoury Jean‐Claude
Published: March 2003

In spite of legislation enforcing standards of health and safety at work, at least in the West, sweatshops are still a feature of the business scene. The long term ethical aim must be clear, but there is a need for a gradual approach rather than an absolutist one. The author is completing his MBA at London Business School, and is of Lebanese origin with a background in finance.
Corporations and the Ethics of Social Responsibility: An Emerging Regime of Expansion and Compliance
Authors: Broadhurst Arlene
Published: March 2003

Corporate ethics has undergone significant change in response to environmental issues, and is beginning to evolve further in response to emerging notions of social responsibility, defined in terms of human rights issues. Three dimensions of ethical behaviour – national, international and theoretical – are defined and illustrated through three case studies. The increasingly complex interaction between two of the dimensions, national and international in a global context, poses a significant challenge to corporations attempting to develop and extend best practices. Essentially, that challenge is not only one of corporate compliance, either voluntary or enforced by a system of regulatory and legal measures, but also a question of responsibility for damage or abuse. Three cases are presented which illustrate the complexity of the interactions. The Simon Jones case emphasises the dangers of casual work in multinational labour transactions, and the shortcomings of national remedies even in an advanced economy such as the UK. The second case, Tommy Hilfiger et al., raises a complex set of questions regarding national and international responsibility for compensation in developing economies. The third case, the Royal/Dutch Shell Group, serves as a model of voluntary corporate reform designed to bridge the gap between principles and practice both nationally and internationally.
Better to shop than to vote?
Authors: Hertz Noreena
Published: March 2003

This paper begins by reflecting on the current generalised political apathy signalled by low voter turnout and falling party membership. It would appear that people are exercising political choices not at the ballot box but by means of consumer activism. Corporations respond to consumer pressure in a way that governments do not, and are gradually assuming the role of global political actors. But this is a dangerous state of affairs for several reasons. In the first place, social welfare can never be the core activity of corporations. Corporate social motives are commercial, and there is a danger that their social policy decisions will be driven by the logic of the market place rather than social need. Recession, for instance, will curtail their social responsiveness, as will decisions to relocate. It is also the case that partnerships between governments and corporates run the risk of removing checks on the growth and abuse of corporate power. And finally, what price does society have to pay for the growth of corporate benevolence?
Green light for greener supply
Authors: Preuss Lutz
Published: March 2003

The supply chain management function is currently undergoing a dramatic change: it is adopting an increasingly strategic role. However, this growing financial importance is matched in only a handful of exemplary companies by a greater contribution to environmental protection initiatives in the supply chain. This paper explores some of the obstacles to greater supply chain management involvement in environmental protection and offers suggestions for greener supply. At a personal level, the gap between public opinion on the environment and managerial values needs to be closed, and the support offered by management education and by professional bodies needs to be improved. Within the organisation, the reward structure for supply chain managers needs to move away from narrow economic criteria. Greener supply would also benefit from a larger supply chain management role in corporate strategy making; the function could even be offered a seat on the Board of Management. Changes to the mode of supply chain management, including improvements to the information flow on environmental issues, the decision–making tools used in the face of complex environmental challenges and novel approaches to supply chain management need to receive urgent attention.
Hives and horseshoes, Mintzberg or MacIntyre: what future for corporate social responsibility?
Authors: Moore Geoff
Published: March 2003

A horseshoe is regarded as a lucky, perhaps even romantic, symbol of our industrial heritage. Why is it, then, that much of English literature, from Mandeville's ‘Grumbling Hive’ on, portrays business in a murky light? The paper begins with an analysis of this phenomenon and concludes that it is the institutionalisation and legitimisation of avarice and its consequential effects that gives rise to such a portrayal. A horseshoe has also been used as a convenient means of conceptualising an answer to the questions this conclusion raises: ‘Who should control the corporation and for what ends?’ (Mintzberg 1985) and discussing recent developments in corporate social responsibility. Drawing on research evidence the paper demonstrates how corporations are simultaneously under pressure from society and responding to its concerns. The paper concludes that these current developments can at best ameliorate the situation, and that what is necessary is to rediscover the notion of corporate virtue, instead of putting virtue at the service of vice.
Global Strategy in the Internet Era
Authors: Yip George S.
Published: March 2003

This article examines the joint effects on business strategy of the Internet and globalization. It develops a framework for evaluating how the Internet affects the globalization potential of individual industries and the global strategies that companies should adopt. The impact of the Internet will not be uniform. Not only do its direct effects vary from one industry to another, but also it speeds up globalization at different rates in different industries. The article shows how to use the Internet to support five types of global strategy: market participation, products and services, activity location, marketing, and competitive moves.
Captivate Network and Elevator Telematics
Authors: Anderson Jamie , Voss Chris
Published: March 2003

Captivate Network, a US internet start‐up, is the leading provider of elevator telematics: flat‐screen panels displaying news and other content plus advertisements to people travelling in elevators. Telematics also has safety and operational applications. Growing fast in North America, the technology is now poised to expand to other technologically‐advanced countries. It is a successful niche application of wireless internet technology and a new advertising medium in an industry which has changed little and is dominated by long‐established big companies.
How Meaning Modifies Drawing Behavior in Children
Authors: Vinter Annie
Published: March 2003

Two hundred and nine children aged 6–10 years and 40 adults were asked to draw perceptually ambiguous drawings to which two different meanings could be attributed, each meaning inducing a particular parsing of the model. These models were presented with one meaning in a first phase and another meaning in a second phase. For each, we analyzed whether participants modified their movement sequences in ways that were determined by the model's meaning. The results showed that the participants' drawing was to some degree sensitive to meaning at all ages. However, sensitivity to meaning differed as a function of the model and, more precisely, of the type of parsing induced by meaning. Thus, the way information is segmented into representational units may account for the relation between the what and the how of drawing.
Children's Judgments of Flags and Flag‐Burning
Authors: Helwig Charles C. , Prencipe Angela
Published: March 2003

This study examined children's conceptions of flags as social conventions and understandings of the symbolic and psychological consequences associated with transgressions toward flags. Seventy‐two children, at 6, 8, and 10 years, answered general questions about flags as social conventions and judged flag‐burning scenarios in which intentions of agents and consequences for recipients were varied. Flag‐burning acts were motivated by symbolic, accidental, or instrumental intentions and occurred in public or private. Children at all ages viewed flags as social conventions (i.e., alterable), and symbolic acts of flag‐burning occurring in public locations were judged more negatively than private transgressions. Age differences were found in evaluations of instrumental violations and in justifications used to evaluate flag‐burning incidents. Overall, findings suggest that despite age‐related increases in understanding of flags as meaningful collective symbols, children at all ages considered transgressions to be important and to have moral consequences (i.e., psychological harm).
The Relation of Affect to Attention and Learning in Infancy
Authors: Rose Susan A. , Futterweit Lorelle R. , Jankowski Jeffery J.
Published: March 2003

The relation of positive affect to attention and learning was examined in 5‐, 7‐, and 9‐month‐olds (N = 84). Affect and attention were assessed while the infants inspected a photograph. Affect was rated globally, for overall mood, and specifically, for amount of time smiling. Attention was indexed by the duration of the infant's longest (or peak) look, a measure previously linked to differential cognitive performance. At all ages, positive affect (shown by approximately half the infants) was associated with long look durations and slower learning, as assessed on a task in which infants learned to distinguish a familiar face from a series of novel faces. By contrast, neutral affect was associated with short looks and faster learning. Affect and look duration had synergistic effects, in that learning was faster than expected for infants who displayed both short looks and neutral affect. These findings are compatible with adult research that links positive affect to less analytical processing, and provide the first evidence that affect may be associated with the speed of processing differences implicated in short and long looking.
The Effects of Global Severe Privation on Cognitive Competence: Extension and Longitudinal Follow‐up
Authors: O’Connor Thomas G. , Rutter Michael , Beckett Celia , Keaveney Lisa , Kreppner Jana M. , English and Romanian Adoptees Study Team
Published: March 2003

The current study extends previous research on a sample of children adopted into the United Kingdom following severe early deprivation and a comparison sample of nondeprived, within‐country, early adoptees. We assessed 165 children adopted from Romania and 52 U.K. adoptees at age 6 years. Longitudinal data (at age 4 and 6 years) were available on 111 Romanian adoptees placed into U.K. homes before 24 months of age and on all U.K. adoptees. Results indicated that there was considerable catch‐up among late‐placed Romanian children from entry into the United Kingdom to age 6, but as a group they exhibited lower cognitive scores and general developmental impairment compared with earlier adopted Romanian children. In addition, the resilience suggested at the assessment at age 4 years was maintained longitudinally, but there was no further evidence of catch‐up or recovery.
The Construct of Resilience: A Critical Evaluation and Guidelines for Future Work
Authors: Luthar Suniya S. , Cicchetti Dante , Becker Bronwyn
Published: March 2003

This paper presents a critical appraisal of resilience, a construct connoting the maintenance of positive adaptation by individuals despite experiences of significant adversity. As empirical research on resilience has burgeoned in recent years, criticisms have been levied at work in this area. These critiques have generally focused on ambiguities in definitions and central terminology; heterogeneity in risks experienced and competence achieved by individuals viewed as resilient; instability of the phenomenon of resilience; and concerns regarding the usefulness of resilience as a theoretical construct. We address each identified criticism in turn, proposing solutions for those we view as legitimate and clarifying misunderstandings surrounding those we believe to be less valid. We conclude that work on resilience possesses substantial potential for augmenting the understanding of processes affecting at‐risk individuals. Realization of the potential embodied by this construct, however, will remain constrained without continued scientific attention to some of the serious conceptual and methodological pitfalls that have been noted by skeptics and proponents alike.
Developmental Pathways in Close Relationships
Authors: Fogel Alan
Published: March 2003

Multiple case study developmental pathway research is needed to substantiate the theoretical propositions of the target article.
The Development of Visual Expectations in the First Year
Authors: Reznick J. Steven , Chawarska Katarzyna , Betts Stephanie
Published: March 2003

The development of expectations was investigated by using the Visual Expectations Procedure. In Experiment 1, 128 infants aged 6‐, 9‐, and 12‐months‐old saw two 40‐trial sequences of a videotaped mechanical toy appearing in various locations. The sequences represented an alternation pattern (i.e., ABAB) or a complex pivot pattern (i.e., ABCBABCB). In Experiment 2, 76 infants aged 4‐, 8‐, and 12‐months‐old saw either a left‐right alternation or a top‐bottom alternation. Reaction time improved and the percentage of anticipations increased between 6 and 9 months in Experiment 1 and between 4 and 8 months in Experiment 2 but not thereafter. Anticipations for the pivot sequence and for younger infants on both sequences were often incorrect (i.e., gaze shifts occurred before stimulus onset but were not directed toward the upcoming stimulus). We conclude that young infants have expectations that reflect some degree of general or procedural knowledge, but it is not clear that this behavior implies specific, articulated expectations about upcoming events.
Can Young Infants Add and Subtract?
Authors: Wakeley Ann , Rivera Susan , Langer Jonas
Published: March 2003

Three experiments (N= 68), using Wynn's procedure, tested 5‐month‐old infants' looking time reactions to correct and incorrect results of simple addition and subtraction transformations. The aim was to investigate both the robustness and the parameters of infants' arithmetic competence. Experiments 1 and 2 (N= 44) were replications of Wynn's first two experiments in which infants were shown addition (1 + 1 = 1 or 2) and subtraction (2 − 1 = 1 or 2) requiring imprecise calculation. Experiment 3 (N= 24) was a subtraction counterpart (3 − 1 = 1 or 2) to Wynn's third experiment requiring precise calculation of addition (1 + 1 = 2 or 3). Unlike Wynn, we found no systematic evidence of either imprecise or precise adding and subtracting in young infants. Our results, together with the mix of both positive and negative findings from other studies of infant arithmetic, suggest that infants' reactions to displays of adding and subtracting are variable and, therefore, that infants' numerical competencies are not robust. This conclusion is consistent with previous findings indicating that simple adding and subtracting develops gradually and continuously throughout infancy and early childhood.
Middle‐Class African American Adolescents' and Parents' Conceptions of Parental Authority and Parenting Practices: A Longitudinal Investigation
Authors: Smetana Judith G.
Published: March 2003

Conceptions of parental authority and ratings of parental rules and decision making were examined longitudinally among 82 middle‐class African American adolescents and their parents (82 mothers and 52 fathers), who were divided into two groups according to family income. Adolescents were, on average, 13.14 years of age at Time 1 and 15.05 years of age at Time 2. Nearly all adolescents and parents affirmed parents' legitimate authority to regulate (and children's obligation to comply with) rules regarding moral, conventional, prudential, friendship, and multifaceted issues, but they were more equivocal in their judgments regarding personal issues. With age, adolescents increasingly judged personal issues to be beyond the bounds of legitimate parental authority, but judgments differed by family income. Adolescents from upper income families rejected parents' legitimate authority to regulate personal issues more at Time 1 than did adolescents from middle income families, but no differences were found at Time 2. Authority to regulate adolescents' behavior did not extend to other adults or to schools, churches, and the law. With adolescents' increasing age, African American families became less restrictive in regulating prudential, friendship, multifaceted, and personal issues. Adolescents', mothers', and fathers' judgments demonstrated significant continuity over time, but few cross‐ or within‐generation associations in judgments were found. Conceptions of legitimate parental authority at Time 1 were found to predict family rules at Time 2.
Self‐Efficacy Beliefs as Shapers of Children's Aspirations and Career Trajectories
Authors: Bandura Albert , Barbaranelli Claudio , Caprara Gian Vittorio , Pastorelli Concetta
Published: March 2003

This prospective study tested with 272 children a structural model of the network of sociocognitive influences that shape children's career aspirations and trajectories. Familial socioeconomic status is linked to children's career trajectories only indirectly through its effects on parents' perceived efficacy and academic aspirations. The impact of parental self‐efficacy and aspirations on their children's perceived career efficacy and choice is, in turn, entirely mediated through the children's perceived efficacy and academic aspirations. Children's perceived academic, social, and self‐regulatory efficacy influence the types of occupational activities for which they judge themselves to be efficacious both directly and through their impact on academic aspirations. Perceived occupational self‐efficacy gives direction to the kinds of career pursuits children seriously consider for their life's work and those they disfavor. Children's perceived efficacy rather than their actual academic achievement is the key determinant of their perceived occupational self‐efficacy and preferred choice of worklife. Analyses of gender differences reveal that perceived occupational self‐efficacy predicts traditionality of career choice.
The Role of Person Familiarity in Young Infants' Perception of Emotional Expressions
Authors: Kahana‐Kalman Ronit , Walker‐Andrews Arlene S.
Published: March 2003

This research investigated the role of person familiarity in the ability of 3.5‐month‐old infants to recognize emotional expressions. Infants (N= 72) were presented simultaneously with two filmed facial expressions, happy and sad, accompanied by a single vocal expression that was concordant with one of the two facial expressions. Infants' looking preferences and facial expressions were coded. Results indicated that when the emotional expressions were portrayed by each infant's own mother, infants looked significantly longer toward the facial expressions that were accompanied by affectively matching vocal expressions. Infants who were presented with emotional expressions of an unfamiliar woman did not. Even when a brief delay was inserted between the presentation of facial and vocal expressions, infants who were presented with emotional expressions of their own mothers looked longer at the facial expression that was sound specified, indicating that some factor other than temporal synchrony guided their looking preferences. When infants viewed the films of their own mothers, they were more interactive and expressed more positive and less negative affect. Moreover, infants produced a greater number of full and bright smiles when the sound‐specified emotion was “happy,” and particularly when they viewed the happy expressions of their own mothers. The average duration of negative affect was significantly longer for infants who observed the unfamiliar woman than for those who observed their own mothers. These results show that when more contextual information—that is, person familiarity —was available, infants as young as 3.5 months of age recognized happy and sad expressions. These findings suggest that in the early stages of development, infants are sensitive to contextual information that potentially facilitates some of the meaning of others' emotional expressions.
The Development of an Intuitive Understanding of Entropy
Authors: Friedman William J.
Published: March 2003

Previous studies of the concept of entropy have indicated that before 7 to 9 years of age, children have difficulty understanding the effects of randomizing forces and often predict highly improbable events, such as a return to the original ordered state. In the present research, 306 children between 3 and 11 years of age were asked directly whether undifferentiated forces, such as the wind or objects being thrown into the air, could create order or disorder in a set of objects. The results showed that even 4‐year‐olds are sensitive to the asymmetrical effects of such events. Older children apply this principle more consistently and are able to use it in explaining their answers.
Neurocognitive Function and Joint Attention Ability in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Versus Developmental Delay
Authors: Dawson Geraldine , Munson Jeffrey , Estes Annette , Osterling Julie , McPartland James , Toth Karen , Carver Leslie , Abbott Robert
Published: March 2003

Studies have shown that young children with autism are not impaired on prefrontal tasks relative to what would be expected for their mental age, raising questions about the executive dysfunction hypothesis of autism. These studies did not include ventromedial prefrontal tasks, however. The present study examined whether young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are impaired on ventromedial prefrontal tasks, and whether performance on such tasks is correlated with a core autism symptom, joint attention ability. Seventy‐two 3‐ to 4‐year‐old children with ASD, 34 3‐ to 4‐year‐old developmentally delayed children, and 39 12‐ to 46‐month‐old typically developing children, matched on mental age, were administered ventromedial and dorsolateral prefrontal tasks and joint attention tasks. Children with ASD performed similarly to comparison groups on all executive function tasks, indicating that at this early age, there is no autism‐specific pattern of executive dysfunction. Ventromedial, but not dorsolateral, prefrontal task performance was strongly correlated with joint attention ability, however. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex is hypothesized to play a role in the development of joint attention and possibly some aspects of the autistic syndrome.
Emergence of Graphic Symbol Functioning and the Question of Domain Specificity: A Longitudinal Training Study
Authors: Callaghan Tara C. , Rankin Mary P.
Published: March 2003

The impact of social scaffolding on the emergence of graphic symbol functioning was explored in a longitudinal training study. Links among graphic, language, and play domains in symbolic development were also investigated. The symbolic functioning of 16 children, who were 28 months at the outset of the study, was assessed in comprehension and production tasks across the three domains at monthly intervals from 28 to 36 months, and again at 42 months. Training was delivered in between monthly assessments during weekly visits. Half of the children received training, which consisted of the experimenter drawing common objects and highlighting the relation between pictures and their referents, for 16 consecutive weeks early in the study (early training, ET). The remaining half received a placebo version of training for these 16 weeks, followed by actual training for 4 weeks in the fifth month (late training, LT). After the first 4 months of training the ET group was found to have accelerated comprehension and production of graphic symbols relative to the LT group. After the fifth month, the LT group reached the same level of graphic symbol performance as the ET group. There were strong positive correlations found among graphic symbol functioning and language and play, and between play and language. These findings support the view that graphic symbolic development can be influenced by cultural scaffolding, that more extensive training is needed early rather than later in development, and that interrelationships exist among symbolic domains.