bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Heart Rate‐Defined Phases of Attention, Look Duration, and Infant Performance in the Paired‐Comparison Paradigm
Authors: Colombo John , Richman W. Allen , Shaddy D. Jill , Follmer Greenhoot Andrea , Maikranz Julie M.
Published: August 2003

Four‐month‐old infants (N= 68) were tested in a paired‐comparison familiarization – novelty recognition task in which the length of choice trials was systematically manipulated. Peak look duration during pretest and familiarization periods significantly predicted a dichotomous measure of recognition performance, but recognition was unaffected by choice‐trial length. Heart rate (HR) was simultaneously assessed during the task, and the amount of time infants spent in various HR‐defined phases of attention was assessed. Longer durations of looking during pretest and familiarization were significantly associated with more time spent in both sustained attention (SA) and attention termination (AT). Of these two variables, only individual differences in AT accounted for significant variance in recognition memory performance. A final analysis addressed the possibility that individual differences in AT mediated the relation between look duration and recognition performance. These findings provide support for the hypothesis that individual differences in the disengagement of attention underlie the relation between look duration and cognitive performance in early to midinfancy.
Exposure to Interparental Conflict and Children's Adjustment and Physical Health: The Moderating Role of Vagal Tone
Authors: El‐Sheikh Mona , Harger JoAnn , Whitson Stephanie M.
Published: August 2003

Physiological regulation, as indexed by baseline vagal tone and delta vagal tone (the change in vagal tone during an attention‐demanding or challenging task), was examined as a moderator in the relations between exposure to verbal and physical parental marital conflict and children's adjustment and physical health. Higher vagal tone was posited to serve a protective function (i.e., buffer) for children exposed to higher levels of marital conflict. Seventy‐five 8‐ to 12‐year‐olds and their mothers completed measures of parental conflict, and children's adjustment and physical health. Children's vagal tone was assessed during baseline conditions and during exposure to an audiotaped interadult argument. Results indicate that higher vagal tone buffered children against increased externalizing, internalizing, and health problems related to exposure to more frequent marital conflict, especially verbal conflict. Further, higher levels of delta vagal tone protected boys against externalizing problems associated with verbal conflict, and health problems associated with physical conflict.
Associations between Phenylalanine‐to‐Tyrosine Ratios and Performance on Tests of Neuropsychological Function in Adolescents Treated Early and Continuously for Phenylketonuria
Authors: Luciana Monica , Sullivan Jill , Nelson Charles A.
Published: August 2003

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a genetic disorder characterized by hyperphenylalaninemia. Treatment involves dietary phenylalanine restriction to prevent mental retardation. Because phenylalanine is involved in tyrosine synthesis and tyrosine is a catecholamine precursor, low tyrosine may lead to brain dopamine deficiencies. Because dopamine is involved in the modulation of prefrontally orchestrated executive functions, deficiencies may lead to executive impairments. Despite treatment, impairments in executive cognitive functions have been reported in young children with PKU. Outcome beyond middle childhood has not been extensively investigated. In this study, PKU‐affected adolescents (N= 18) with normal‐range IQ scores completed neuropsychological tests, and their performance was compared with unaffected peers (N= 16) and chronically ill controls (N= 17). Results demonstrated that the overall performance of the PKU group did not differ from that of the other two groups, but that performance of the PKU proband was associated with phenylalanine and tyrosine levels, and most strongly with phenylalanine‐to‐tyrosine ratios at several points in development. These findings provide a preliminary test of the dopamine hypothesis of PKU as it applies to adolescents and young adults.
The Influence of Shape Similarity and Shared Labels on Infants’ Inductive Inferences about Nonobvious Object Properties
Authors: Welder Andrea N. , Graham Susan A.
Published: August 2003

This study examined the influence of object labels and shape similarity on 16‐ to 21‐month‐old infants’ inductive inferences. In three experiments, a total of 144 infants were presented with novel target objects with or without a nonobvious property, followed by test objects that varied in shape similarity to the target. When objects were not labeled, infants generalized the nonobvious property to test objects that were highly similar in shape (Experiment 1). When objects were labeled with novel nouns, infants relied both on shape similarity and shared labels to generalize properties (Experiment 2). Finally, when objects were labeled with familiar nouns, infants generalized the properties to those objects that shared the same label, regardless of shape similarity (Experiment 3). The results of these experiments delineate the role of perceptual similarity and conceptual information in guiding infants’ inductive inferences.
One Cow Does Not an Animal Make: Young Children Can Extend Novel Words at the Superordinate Level
Authors: Liu Jing , Golinkoff Roberta Michnick , Sak Kimberly
Published: August 2003

Six match‐to‐sample picture/object selection experiments were designed to explore children's knowledge about superordinate words (e.g., “food”) and how they acquire this knowledge. Three factors were found to influence the learning and extension of superordinate words in 3‐ to 5‐year‐old children (N= 230): The number of standards (one versus two), the type of standards presented (from different basic‐level categories versus from the same basic‐level category), and the nature of the object representations used (pictures versus objects). A different pattern of superordinate word acquisition was found between 3‐year‐olds and 4‐ and 5‐year‐olds. Although 4‐ and 5‐year‐olds could learn and extend novel words to superordinate categories in the presence of two picture exemplars from different categories or a single three‐dimensional (3‐D) exemplar, 3‐year‐olds could do so only in the presence of two 3‐D exemplars. These findings indicate that young children's acquisition of superordinate words is influenced by multiple factors and that there is a developmental progression from multiple exemplars to single exemplars in superordinate word learning.
Problem Solving, Contention, and Struggle: How Siblings Resolve a Conflict of Interests
Authors: Ram Avigail , Ross Hildy S.
Published: August 2003

In a laboratory setting, 48 sibling dyads age 4 and 6 or 6 and 8 years negotiated the division of six toys. Findings revealed that, in general, children reached divisions while using a preponderance of constructive problem‐solving strategies, rather than contentious tactics. The degree of conflict of interests and the quality of sibling relationships predicted the children's use of problem‐solving and contentious negotiation strategies, and was related to the types of resolutions achieved. Dyads experiencing low conflict of interests resolved their differences quickly. High conflict of interests coupled with positive relationships and constructive negotiation resulted in longer negotiations and creative, agreeable resolutions. High conflict of interests coupled with more negative relationships and destructive negotiations resulted in children's failures to reach agreement. Developmental differences indicated that older siblings within the pairs took the lead in negotiation, and benefited slightly more from the divisions. Furthermore, children in older dyads were more sophisticated and other oriented in their negotiations.
Free‐Time Activities in Middle Childhood: Links with Adjustment in Early Adolescence
Authors: McHale Susan M. , Crouter Ann C. , Tucker Corinna J.
Published: August 2003

This study assessed links between free‐time activities in middle childhood (hobbies, sports, toys and games, outdoor play, reading, television viewing, and hanging out) and school grades, conduct, and depression symptoms both concurrently and 2 years later, in early adolescence. It also explored two mechanisms that might underlie activity–adjustment links: whether the social contexts of children's activities mediate these links, child effects explain these connections, or both. Participants were 198 children (M= 10.9 years, SD= .54 years) in Year 1, and their parents. In home interviews in Years 1 and 3 of the study, mothers rated children's conduct problems, children reported on their depression symptoms, and information was collected on school grades from report cards. In seven evening phone interviews, children reported on the time they spent in free‐time activities during the day of the call and their companions in each activity. Links were found between the nature of children's free‐time activities and their adjustment. The social contexts of free‐time activities explained activity–adjustment links to a limited degree; with respect to child effects, evidence also suggested that better adjusted children became more involved in adaptive activities over time.
Change in Family Income‐to‐Needs Matters More for Children with Less
Authors: Dearing Eric , McCartney Kathleen , Taylor Beck A.
Published: August 2003

Hierarchical linear modeling was used to model the dynamics of family income‐to‐needs for participants of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care (N= 1,364) from the time that children were 1 through 36 months of age. Associations between change in income‐to‐needs and 36‐month child outcomes (i.e., school readiness, receptive language, expressive language, positive social behavior, and behavior problems) were examined. Although change in income‐to‐needs proved to be of little importance for children from nonpoor families, it proved to be of great importance for children from poor families. For children in poverty, decreases in income‐to‐needs were associated with worse outcomes and increases were associated with better outcomes. In fact, when children from poor families experienced increases in income‐to‐needs that were at least 1 SD above the mean change for poor families, they displayed outcomes similar to their nonpoor peers. The practical importance and policy implications of these findings are discussed.
Effects of Poverty and Maternal Depression on Early Child Development
Authors: Petterson Stephen M. , Albers Alison Burke
Published: August 2003

Researchers have renewed an interest in the harmful consequences of poverty on child development. This study builds on this work by focusing on one mechanism that links material hardship to child outcomes, namely the mediating effect of maternal depression. Using data from the National Maternal and Infant Health Survey, we found that maternal depression and poverty jeopardized the development of very young boys and girls, and to a certain extent, affluence buffered the deleterious consequences of depression. Results also showed that chronic maternal depression had severe implications for both boys and girls, whereas persistent poverty had a strong effect for the development of girls. The measures of poverty and maternal depression used in this study generally had a greater impact on measures of cognitive development than motor development.
Extending Research on the Consequences of Parenting Style for Chinese Americans and European Americans
Authors: Chao Ruth K.
Published: August 2003

This study examined the effects of parent–adolescent relationships on school performance to provide a clearer understanding of why authoritative parenting does not have as beneficial effects for Asian Americans as it does for European Americans. Over 500 adolescents of Chinese‐ (148 first and 176 second generation) and European‐descent (208 primarily third generation or more) families from seven different high schools completed measures of (1) parenting style, (2) parent–adolescent closeness (cohesion subscale from the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Environment Scales II and relationship satisfaction), and (3) school performance. Positive effects of both authoritative parenting and relationship closeness on school performance were found for European Americans and, to some extent, second‐generation Chinese, but not first‐generation Chinese. These effects were also stronger for European Americans than first‐generation Chinese. Through examination of the mediating role of parent–adolescent relationships, this study also found that among European American families, the beneficial effects of authoritative parenting are explained through relationship closeness.
The Home Environments of Children in the United States Part I: Variations by Age, Ethnicity, and Poverty Status
Authors: Bradley Robert H. , Corwyn Robert F. , McAdoo Harriette Pipes , García Coll Cynthia
Published: August 2003

Although measures of the home environment have gained wide acceptance in the child development literature, what constitutes the “average” or “typical” home environment in the United States, and how this differs across ethnic groups and poverty status is not known. Item‐level data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth on four age‐related versions of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment–Short Form (HOME‐SF) from five biennial assessments (1986–1994) were analyzed for the total sample and for four major ethnic groups: European Americans, Asian Americans, African Americans, and Hispanic Americans. The percentages of homes receiving credit on each item of all four versions of the HOME‐SF are described. For the majority of items at all four age levels differences between poor and nonpoor families were noted. Differences were also obtained among African American, European American, and Hispanic American families, but the magnitude of the effect for poverty status was greater than for ethnicity, and usually absorbed most of the ethnic group effects on HOME‐SF items. For every item at every age, the effects of poverty were proportional across European American, African American, and Hispanic American groups.
The Home Environments of Children in the United States Part II: Relations with Behavioral Development through Age Thirteen
Authors: Bradley Robert H. , Corwyn Robert F. , Burchinal Margaret , McAdoo Harriette Pipes , García Coll Cynthia
Published: August 2003

This study examined the frequency with which children were exposed to various parental actions, materials, events, and conditions as part of their home environments, and how those exposures related to their well‐being. Part 1 focused on variations by age, ethnicity, and poverty status. In Part 2 of the study, relations between major aspects of the home environment (including maternal responsiveness, learning stimulation, and spanking) and developmental outcomes for children from birth through age 13 were investigated. The outcomes examined were early motor and social development, vocabulary development, achievement, and behavior problems. These relations were examined in both poor and nonpoor European American, African American, and Hispanic American families using hierarchical linear modeling. The most consistent relations found were those between learning stimulation and children's developmental status, with relations for parental responsiveness and spanking varying as a function of outcome, age, ethnicity, and poverty status. The evidence indicated slightly stronger relations for younger as compared with older children.
Dyck Paths with Peaks Avoiding or Restricted to a Given Set
Authors: Eu Sen‐Peng , Liu Shu‐Chung , Yeh Yeong‐Nan
Published: September 2003

In this paper we focus on Dyck paths with peaks avoiding or restricted to an arbitrary set of heights. The generating functions of such types of Dyck paths can be represented by continued fractions. We also discuss a special case that requires all peak heights to either lie on or avoid a congruence class (or classes) modulo k. The case when k= 2 is especially interesting. The two sequences for this case are proved, combinatorially as well as algebraically, to be the Motzkin numbers and the Riordan numbers. We introduce the concept of shift equivalence on sequences, which in turn induces an equivalence relation on avoiding and restricted sets. Several interesting equivalence classes whose representatives are well‐known sequences are given as examples.
A model of a decision support system based on case‐based reasoning for third‐party logistics evaluation
Authors: Yan Jianyuan , Chaudhry Peggy E. , Chaudhry Sohail S.
Published: September 2003

The social demands for third‐party logistics (3PL) are further developing the model of supply chain management. The analysis of an effective approach for 3PL service supplier evaluation is given in terms of its direct relation to the operational efficiency and benefit of the service‐demanding enterprise as well as its supply chain management. An analysis of the traditional academic theoretical results and practical methods for 3PL supplier selection indicates the deficiencies of this approach. In this paper, a case‐based reasoning model framework is postulated for a 3PL evaluation and selection system. This work further expands upon the theoretical basis of this system and its reasoning process by discussing the advantages and practical value of this framework.
Design of efficient hybrid neural networks for flexible flow shop scheduling
Authors: Wang H. , Jacob V. , Rolland E.
Published: September 2003

Abstract: Although neural networks have been successfully used in performing pattern recognition, their application for solving optimization problems has been limited. In this paper we design a neural network to solve a well‐known combinatorial problem, namely the flexible flow shop problem. A key feature of our neural network design is the integration of problem structure and heuristic information in the network structure and solution. We compare the performance of our neural network with well‐known current heuristics with respect to solution quality. The results indicate that our approach outperforms the heuristics.
Danto, History, and The Tragedy of Human Existence
Authors: Ankersmit F. R.
Published: August 2003

Philosophy of history is the Cinderella of contemporary philosophy. Philosophers rarely believe that the issues dealt with by philosophers of history are matters of any great theoretical interest or urgency. In their view philosophy of history rarely goes beyond the question of how results that have already been achieved elsewhere can or should be applied to the domain of historical writing. Moreover, contemporary philosophers of history have done desperately little to dispel the low opinion that their colleagues have of them. In this essay I argue that Arthur Danto is the exception confirming the rule, for Danto's philosophy of representation may help us understand how texts relate to what they are about. The main shortcoming of (twentieth‐century) philosophy of language undoubtedly is that it never bothered to investigate the philosophical mysteries of the text. The writing of history is a philosophical goldmine and we must praise Danto for having reminded us of this.
Fact, Truth, and Text: The Quest for a Firm Basis for Historical Knowledge Around 1900
Authors: Torstendahl Rolf
Published: August 2003

The object of this essay is to discuss two problems and to present solutions to them, which do not quite agree with what is generally said of them. The first problem concerns the history of methods for reaching firm historical knowledge. In three methodological manuals for historians, written by J. G. Droysen, E. Bernheim, and C.‐V. Langlois and C. Seignobos and first published in the late nineteenth century, the task of the historian was said to be how to obtain firm knowledge about history. The question is how this message should be understood. The second problem concerns the differences between the three manuals. If their common goal is firm historical knowledge, are there any major differences of opinion? The answer given in this article is yes, and the ground is sought in their theories of truth.
The “Trial” of Lee Benson: Communism, White Chauvinism, and The Foundations of the “New Political History” in the United States
Authors: Zahavi Gerald
Published: August 2003

Lee Benson was one of the first American political historians to suggest a “systematic” revision of traditional political history with its emphasis on narrow economic class analysis, narrative arguments, and over‐reliance on qualitative research methodologies. This essay presents Benson's contributions to the “new political history”—an attempt to apply social‐science methods, concepts, and theories to American political history—as a social, cultural, and political narrative of Cold War‐era American history. Benson belonged to a generation of ex‐Communist American historians and political scientists whose scholarship and intellectual projects flowed—in part—out of Marxist social and political debates, agendas, and paradigmatic frameworks, even as they rejected and revised them. The main focus of the essay is the genesis of Benson's pioneering study of nineteenth‐century New York state political culture, The Concept of Jacksonian Democracy, with its emphasis on intra‐class versus inter‐class conflict, sensitivity to ethnocultural determinants of political and social behavior, and reliance on explicit social‐science theory and methodology. In what follows, I argue that The Concept of Jacksonian Democracy has its roots in Benson's Popular Front Marxist beliefs, and his decade‐long engagement and subsequent disenchantment with American left‐wing politics. Benson's growing alienation from Progressive historical paradigms and traditional Marxist analysis, and his attempts to formulate a neo‐Marxism attentive to unique American class and political realities, are linked to his involvement with 1940s radical factional politics and his disturbing encounter with internal Communist party racial and ideological tensions in the late 1940s at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
Another New Nietzsche
Authors: Allen Barry
Published: August 2003

Book reviewed in this article:

Bernard Williams, Truth and Truthfulness: An Essay in Genealogy
Whose Burden?
Authors: Fracchia Joseph
Published: August 2003

Book reviewed in this article:

Allan Megill, Karl Marx: The Burden of Reason (Why Marx Rejected Politics and The Market)
Not Just ‘Visitors’ to Prisons:The Experiences of Imams who Work Inside the Penal System
Authors: Spalek Basia , Wilson David
Published: August 2003

This article presents the results of a study exploring the consequences of working within a Christian‐dominated penal system upon a group of Imams who regularly visit prisons. The Islamic religion is currently the fastest growing non‐Christian religion in British prisons and so it was considered to be important to document the experiences of the spiritual guides of this faith. Interview data revealed that the Imams face many disadvantages as a result of belonging to a non‐Christian religion, amounting to a form of ‘institutional racism’. However, many of them revealed that they were not the passive victims of institutional racism (and sometimes direct racism also), but rather struggled against their material conditions in order to force the prisons in which they work to respond to their own needs and those of the prisoners whom they serve. Nonetheless, it appears that any opportunities for change are limited by the structural imbalance between Christian and non‐Christian faiths within the penal system.
The Trend Towards Specialisation:West Yorkshire Innovations in Drugs and Domestic Violence Courts
Authors: Walsh Charlotte
Published: August 2003

This article discusses the recent birth of what the author perceives to be a move towards increased specialisation in our magistrates'courts. The developments which suggest the beginnings of such a trend have all taken place in West Yorkshire where two specialist drug courts and a specialist domestic violence court are now in operation. These courts are effectively piloting an innovative approach which, should it prove successful, would seem likely to be developed on a nationwide scale. The specialist courts which have been established in this country to date are looked at in some detail, alongside a consideration of the substance, foundation and desirability of specialisation. However, due to the fact that specialist courts in this country are at such a formative stage, it is rather early to comment meaningfully on their effectiveness; therefore, these courts are evaluated predominantly through discussion of their forerunners in the United States. The aims and motivations behind specialisation are considered along with a discussion of the advantages to be gained from such an approach. These advantages are considered both in practical terms and in abstract. In conclusion, an analysis of the areas where specialisation is likely to take place in this country in the future is offered, along with a consideration of the wider context of this new development.
Victim Participation in Sentencing: The Problems of Incoherence
Authors: Edwards Ian
Published: August 2003

Despite the trend in many countries towards permitting or desiring the participation of victims at sentencing, states are still having to grapple with the conceptual and practical issues raised by moves to include victims at sentencing. What has been lacking is an appreciation of the different rationales for inclusion and the problems that result from each. Four types of justification for including the victim are delineated, and the practical implications of each are considered for defining who is a victim, determining the content and form of participation, and assessing effectiveness. Three recent developments (in the USA, England and Wales, and South Australia) are used as a focus.
Putting Restorative Justice into Practice for Adult Offenders
Authors: Maxwell Gabrielle , Morris Allison
Published: August 2003

Many countries are now exploring new models of justice in the hope that they can be more effective than the traditional criminal justice system in responding to victims, reducing the probability of reoffending and contributing to community safety. This article describes two pilot schemes which used community panel meetings to decide on diversionary plans for adult offenders. Both displayed elements of restorative justice processes, particularly adopting plans designed to make amends for offending. One placed an emphasis on the participation of victims and taking part in rehabilitative programmes. The other placed emphasis on responsibility to the indigenous community and taking reintegrative measures. Despite these differences, both schemes resulted in fewer reconvictions and less serious reconvictions compared to matched control groups and both schemes represented financial savings compared to conventional court processes and correctional outcomes.
The Short Life and Painful Death of Prisoners' Rights
Authors: Schone J.M.
Published: August 2003

Twelve years ago in this journal Viviane Treacy (1989) predicted a conflict between the common law and the European Convention on Human Rights over the issue of prisoners' rights. At first glance this view was a pessimistic one, as we now have legislation that requires English judges to pay heed to the Convention in their deliberations (Human Rights Act 1998). Two Court of Appeal decisions immediately prior to the enacting of the legislation (R v. SSHD ex parte O'Dhuibhir[1997] (unreported) CA Transcript 383; R v. SSHD ex parte Simms, ex parte Main[1998] 2 All ER 491) however suggest that the impact of the Act in prisoners'cases will be limited. Furthermore these two cases are an indication of a retreat from a position where our courts acknowledged prisoners as having positive legal rights. This article attempts an explanation of this by tracing the development of prison law and prisoners' rights in the last 20 years.
The association between training and organizational commitment among white‐collar workers in Malaysia
Authors: Ahmad Kamarul Zaman , Bakar Raida Abu
Published: August 2003

The exploration of the relationship between organizational commitment and training is still in its early stages. Although there have been several studies reported on training and organizational commitment in Western countries, very little has been done in respect of the local professionals in Malaysia. This research investigates the association between five training variables (availability of training, support for training, motivation to learn, training environment and perceived benefits of training), and various aspects of organizational commitment (affective commitment, normative commitment, continuance commitment and overall organizational commitment). The availability of training, support for training, motivation to learn, training environment, perceived benefits of training were all significantly correlated with affective commitment, normative commitment and overall organizational commitment. The training environment and perceived benefits were also significantly correlated with continuance commitment. However the availability of training, support for training and motivation to learn were not significantly correlated with continuance commitment. This suggests that despite other forms of commitment, Malaysian workers do not feel that they need to remain in an organization that has made available the training, given support for the training and were motivated to learn. Otherwise, results suggest that on the whole, training does seem to have an influence on organizational commitment. The practical implication of this is that managers, who are so desirous of enhancing organizational commitment among their subordinates, should pay more attention to training.

Annual income was found to correlate positively with affective commitment and overall commitment. Age and tenure were not significant predictors of overall organizational commitment contradicting studies in the West. This demonstrated that Malaysians might have different attitudes towards organizational commitment. The older they are and the longer they stay within an organization do not imply that they will be committed towards their organization. This phenomenon can be attributed to the uncertain business environment in Malaysia.
Measuring effectiveness of TQM training: an Indian study
Authors: Palo Sasmita , Padhi Nayantara
Published: August 2003

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a never ending process of improving work processes. It operates according to the premise that organisations cannot rest comfortably without continuously improving whatever is being done. There has to be a culture of continuous improvement and everyone in the organisation must strive towards it. This could be accomplished only through continuous training. The present study seeks to examine the role of training as well as measuring its effectiveness for successful implementation of TQM. For this purpose, data have been retrieved from a public sector enterprise manufacturing crude steel in India. The findings of the study are based purely on primary survey. Pearson's Correlation Coefficient with their significance levels have been used to measure the effectiveness of TQM training and the correlation between TQM training and selected factors. The authors have found that training creates awareness, builds employees’ commitment to quality policy and strategy, facilitates teamwork, enhances performance standards, and bolsters the skills and abilities of employees. However, the organisation needs to focus more upon improving communication competencies, multiple skill development and customer value training. Successful TQM training in the organisation needs more budgetary allocation and commitment, support and enthusiasm of the top management.
International briefing 15: Training and development in Austria
Authors: Lehner Johannes M. , Dikany Marlene
Published: August 2003

The system of primary, secondary, and tertiary education in Austria is largely regulated through federal laws. Especially on the tertiary level major reforms have been initiated during the last decade. Beyond that, vocational training, especially as part of apprenticeships, is shaped by and adapted to the structure of the Austrian economy, consisting mostly of small and medium sized enterprises. This type of job oriented training and development is strongly, although decreasingly, influenced by the system of social and economic partnership in Austria. In contrast, management training and post tertiary education is much more diverse and less regulated. Beside already ongoing educational reforms, pressures due to global competition will increasingly impact vocational training and development in the future.
Behavioural Neuroscience and Child Psychopathology: Insights from Model Systems
Authors: Skuse David H.
Published: August 2003

We have just emerged from “the Decade of the Brain”, yet in so many ways it was the “Decade of the Genome”. What relevance does the remarkable advance in knowledge in genetics and neuroscience over that period have to our understanding of child psychopathology? When the complexity of the genetic systems involved in behavioural regulation of relatively simple organisms such as the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans or the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster is considered, the possibility of comprehending the links from genes to behaviour in the developing child seems remote. Yet, the principles of investigation in model systems are not so different to those that should apply in humans. This review draws out the parallels, and introduces recent findings from behavioural studies of C. elegans, D. melanogaster, and the laboratory mouse, as well as humans, to illustrate the point.
Children's Language Learning: An Interactionist Perspective
Authors: Chapman Robin S.
Published: August 2003

This review of children's language learning considers historical accounts of acquisition and individual variation, recent advances in methods for studying language learning, research on genetic and environmental input that have contributed to the interactionist perspective, and the relevance of cross‐disciplinary work on language disorders and the biology of learning to future theories. It concludes that the study of children's language development is converging on an interactionist perspective of how children learn to talk, incorporating the contributions of both nature and nurture to emergent, functional language systems. Language learning is viewed as an integration of learning in multiple domains.
Substance Abuse in Young People
Authors: Gilvarry Eilish
Published: August 2003

Adolescent substance abuse, with its heterogeneity, its complexity and its association with behavioural, physical and mental health problems is of increasing interest to many; the politician, the economist, clinicians and researchers, families and young people themselves. Data concerning the prevalence and trends in use of a range of substances in different countries, cultures and different groups are reviewed. The influence of associated mental and physical health problems, the multiple definitions applied to use and abuse and the confounding effect of different ideologies and cultural differences are considered. There is now much interest in the understanding of risk and protective influences, including multi focused prevention programmes among vulnerable young people. Some positive effects of universal prevention programmes are reported, although too often they lack thoroughness in programme implementation, data collection and follow up. Indeed compared to the adult addiction literature there is a death of research on adolescent treatment outcomes. Research needs to address treatment and cost effectiveness in different settings with different groups. The evidence tends to support multi faceted interventions for high risk youths. However, the use of evidence based programmes with a scientific basis should be supported and implemented.
Children and Adolescents Living with HIV and AIDS: A Review
Authors: Brown Larry K. , Lourie Kevin J. , Pao Maryland
Published: August 2003

Worldwide, more than one million children are infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and in the United States it has become the sixth leading cause of death among 15–24‐year‐olds. Despite the trend of increasing rates of infection, advances in therapies have led to survival past 5 years of age for more than 65% of infected children. This global health threat will therefore continue to have a significant impact on child and adolescent psychiatry and psychology. This paper reviews current studies and reports on the consequences of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic in the psychiatric care and development of children and adolescents infected by HIV. From a search of all the English‐language‐based literature on pediatric AIDS, 140 studies are reviewed which address HIV infection and its psychological and social implications. Several topics of mental health significance are examined: (1) the epidemiology of HIV, (2) neurocognitive development among those infected, (3) psychological impact of infection, and (4) the family and social context of HIV. The transition of HIV from an acute, lethal disease to a subacute, chronic disease has enormous implications for the neurocognitive and psychosocial development of children and families. As children and adolescents infected with HIV continue to live longer, normal developmental milestones and educational needs will take on new significance. Many children will continue to be adversely impacted by non‐HIV factors such as poverty, inadequate medical services, and a lack of social support. This review outlines recent developments that hold promise to effectively reduce the treatment burden on the infected, their families, and health care providers and to decrease the incidence of transmission to the uninfected.
Child Abuse and Neglect and the Brain—A Review
Authors: Glaser Danya
Published: August 2003

Developmental psychology and the study of behaviour and emotion have tended to be considered in parallel to the study of neurobiological processes. This review explores the effects of child abuse and neglect on the brain, excluding nonaccidental injury that causes gross physical trauma to the brain. It commences with a background summary of the nature, context, and some deleterious effects of omission and commission within child maltreatment. There is no post‐maltreatment syndrome, outcomes varying with many factors including nature, duration, and interpersonal context of the maltreatment as well as the nature of later intervention. There then follows a section on environmental influences on brain development, demonstrating the dependence of the orderly process of neurodevelopment on the child's environment. Ontogenesis, or the development of the self through self‐determination, proceeds in the context of the nature‐nurture interaction. As a prelude to reviewing the neurobiology of child abuse and neglect, the next section is concerned with bridging the mind and the brain. Here, neurobiological processes, including cellular, biochemical, and neurophysiological processes, are examined alongside their behavioural, cognitive, and emotional equivalents and vice versa. Child maltreatment is a potent source of stress and the stress response is therefore discussed in some detail. Evidence is outlined for the buffering effects of a secure attachment on the stress response. The section dealing with actual effects on the brain of child abuse and neglect discusses manifestations of the stress response including dysregulation of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal axis, and parasympathetic and catecholamine responses. Recent evidence about reduction in brain volume following child abuse and neglect is also outlined. Some biochemical, functional, and structural changes in the brain that are not reflections of the stress response are observed following child maltreatment. The mechanisms bringing about these changes are less clearly understood and may well be related to early and more chronic abuse and neglect affecting the process of brain development. The behavioural and emotional concomitants of their neurobiological manifestations are discussed. The importance of early intervention and attention to the chronicity of environmental adversity may indicate the need for permanent alternative caregivers, in order to preserve the development of the most vulnerable children.
Recent Advances in the Assessment of Intelligence and Cognition
Authors: Sparrow Sara S. , Davis Stephanie M.
Published: August 2003

In this paper, we review current issues in cognitive assessment. After addressing important definitional and theoretical issues, we discuss some recently developed cognitive assessment instruments as well as some recently revised instruments. Tests that are scheduled for revision will also be mentioned. As most readers are generally familiar with the widely used and nationally standardized IQ tests, we will summarize these tests according to their general usage. The testing of intelligence has been a major focus and contribution since the early days of Psychology, when the birthplace of the intelligence testing movement began in France with the work of Alfred Binet toward the end of the 19th century. Many of the most widely known and used IQ tests have been developed in the U.S.A. and are used internationally. In addition, other IQ tests have been developed in many other countries outside the U.S.A. The use of IQ tests and selected assessment considerations will be reviewed. Finally, we make some predictions about the future role of cognitive assessment in the coming century.
Institutional Care: Risk from Family Background or Pattern of Rearing?
Authors: Roy Penny , Rutter Michael , Pickles Andrew
Published: August 2003

Previous research has shown that children receiving substitute parental care tend to have high rates of emotional/behavioural disturbance, but uncertainty remains on the extent to which this derives from genetic risk, adverse experiences before receiving substitute care, or from risks associated with substitute care experiences. In order to examine the effects of institutional rearing (as a specific form of substitute care), two groups of primary school children reared in substitute care from before the age of 12 months were compared: 19 children in residential group (institutional) care and 19 in continuous stable foster family care (matched for age and gender). The two groups were similar in coming from biological families with high rates of psychopathology and social malfunctioning, but differed with respect to pattern of rearing. Both groups were compared with classroom controls, using teacher questionnaires, systematic classroom observations, and standardised cognitive testing. Parental questionnaires were also obtained for the two substitute care groups. As found previously, the combined substitute care groups differed from controls in showing a high level of hyperactivity/inattention. The observational measures showed a similar effect, indicating that the elevated rate was not attributable to rater bias. The teacher questionnaire and observational measures showed, however, that the increased level of hyperactivity/inattention was substantially higher in the institutional group than the foster family group. Parental questionnaire ratings showed the same contrast between the groups, except that the main difference was on unsociability and emotional disturbance rather than hyperactivity/inattention. It is concluded that, against a background of genetic and early environmental risk, institutional rearing predisposes to a pattern of hyperactivity/inattention.
Emotional Disclosure in School Children
Authors: Reynolds Martina , Brewin Chris R. , Saxton Matthew
Published: August 2003

Recent research with adults by Pennebaker and his colleagues has found that emotional disclosure through writing about stressful events appears to have significant benefits in terms of psychological and physical health outcomes. This report describes a controlled trial of emotional disclosure, adapted for school children, with the major hypothesis that the repeated description of negative events will have beneficial effects on measures of mental health, attendance, and school performance. The sample consisted of children aged 8–13 years from four schools, a primary and a secondary school both from a suburban and an inner‐city area. Children were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: writing about negative events, writing about nonemotional events, and a non‐writing control group. Children in all groups were seen four times during a single week and were then followed up after 2 months with measures of health and school performance. The intervention was well received by both schools and children, and the scripts written by the emotional and nonemotional writing groups differed in content in the predicted ways. Contrary to expectation, there was little evidence of a specific effect of emotional disclosure, and several possible reasons for this are discussed. Nevertheless, there was a general reduction in symptom measures, indicating that children may have benefited from their involvement in the study. Although there are several possible explanations for our findings, they indicate that it is both feasible and potentially valuable to give children opportunities to engage in discussion about sources of stress and their reactions to them.
Children's Understanding of Marital Conflict and the Marital Relationship
Authors: Jenkins J. M. , Buccioni J. M.
Published: August 2003

Children's understanding of marital conflict and the marital relationship was investigated in 60 children of 5, 7, and 9 years old. Age differences were hypothesized in four areas of children's understanding of marital conflict and the marital relationship, based on the development between 5 and 9 years of age of children's abilities to (a) analyse complex sequences of behavior in terms of the mental states of protagonists and (b) integrate multiple social roles. The four areas investigated were: conceptions of marital conflict, conflict resolution, family triangulation, and integration of the spousal and parental roles. Children were read stories involving family interactions. Open‐ended questions were asked about their understanding of these interactions and a coding scheme was devised that reflected theoretical concepts. Nine‐year‐olds differed from 5‐year‐olds on all aspects of their understanding of marital conflict and the marital relationship, and 7‐year‐olds showed levels of understanding between 5‐ and 9‐year‐olds. Younger children were less likely than older children to explain marital conflict in terms of the divergent goals of each parent, to understand conflict resolution as dependent on one person changing their beliefs or goals, to understand that parents were simultaneously spouses and parents and to understand the nature of triangulation. Marital conflict is interpreted very differently by children of different ages.