bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Self-Esteem and Achievements of Gifted Students
Authors: Sekowski Andrzej
Published: January 2012

The role of self-esteem in achievements of gifted persons calls for the attention of research workers and for the accumulation of new experiences in this field. Self-esteem is one of the characteristics whose impact on social and personal functioning is emphasised by many authors representing both cognitive and humanistic orientation. The research is based on the theory and practice of Virginia Satir. The author has cooperated with her, and her co-workers.

In this paper, the problem of the influence of self-esteem of gifted youngsters on their achievements is discussed. Their self-esteem does not only affect the level of achievements, but also their social functioning and attitudes of the environment towards them. Concrete forms of work with them aiming at the elevation of their real self-esteem and at the improvement of their relations with other people are also discussed. Some assumptions and hypotheses are formulated for discussion but strong emphasis is given to the importance of self-esteem in the process of the learning of gifted children and adolescents.
Personality and Motivational Factors Influencing the Change of High Intellectual Potential
Authors: Herskovits Maria , Gefferth Eva
Published: January 2012

This presentation reports findings from a longitudinal study of the cognitive and personality variables of primary school pupils with high intellectual potential. High intellectual potential was identified first as the top ten per cent of 1033 nine-year old children. Retest of intelletual potential and of mediating variables took place two years later.

Fifteen children retained their high level while seven showed a significant decrease as it was discussed in our previous paper at the last ISSSD Meetings. (Jyvaskyla, 1989). These two groups of children were further investigated both in group and in individual situations. The results from the repeated group testing and the results from the individual tests will be analysed in the paper.

Questions: What personality, motivational and environmental factors influence the favourable or unfavourable development of high intellectual potential measured at nine? Does the structure of intelligence (at 12) highlight the change of “g” factor? Do the two groups differ in their level of aspiration?

Methods: Raven Progressive Matrices, Crandall-Katkovsky Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire, March-Parker-Smith Self-Description Questionnaire, Eskeles-Gottfried California Achievement Intrinsic Motivation Inventory, Williams “Divergent Feeling”, Peer ratings, teacher rating, Level of Aspiration (screw-test), Rorschach test, semi-structured interview, etc.

Results: Significant differences were found in the level of achievement motivation, intellectual achievement responsibility, self-concept (academic) and in the supporting atmosphere of the family, but contrary to our hypothesis there was no difference in their social adaptation.

The reasons and explanations for the major influential elements will be presented also through two typical cases.
Art and Creative Imagination
Authors: Khatena Nellie
Published: January 2012

The author is a self-made artist. Moving forward from the intense frustration which she encountered as a student of art she let her own imagery be her instructor. Her imagery guided her to art forms. Being the spouse of a creative researcher is a very risky state of affairs! Mrs Khatena then tried her process of drawing from imagery rather than drawing serving as a constraint on imagery on her husband. She has since used it as Creative Liberation for college students. Mrs Khatena shows the similarities between writing prose and drawing. She sees Nature as the alphabet of art. Her paper shows the unlimited growth and fulfillment which can come from letting drawing and painting happen.
Gifted Children's, Teachers', and Parents' Perceptions of Influential Factors on Gifted Development
Authors: Shaughnessy Michael F. , Stockard Jody W.
Published: January 2012

Over the past twenty years, much research has been conducted and emphasis placed on gifted children, their education and development. This article examines differing perceptions of influential factors on gifted children's development. In one study, parents, teachers and gifted children were surveyed regarding their perception of the factors that have contributed to “giftedness.” In a second study, attitudes, as well as behavioral concerns, are addressed. A third study surveys a cross-cultural sample of British educational professionals. The results of these studies are explored and implications for instruction and assessment are offered.
Global Leadership Theory: Theoretical Roots, Principles and Possibilities for the Future
Authors: Rudnitski Rose A.
Published: January 2012

This article presents a brief critical overview of leadership theory and curriculum and suggests alternatives to meet the challenges of a changing global society. Its main purposes are twofold: 1) to provide a rationale for, and propose the inclusion of paradigms and perspectives that have been absent from traditional leadership theories and programs; and 2) to initiate a theoretical discussion on democratic leadership theories on a global scale in gifted education. The author does not intend to present the ideas set forth in this article as the final version of a global leadership theory, but as a working model that is more inclusive than the models presently in use in the field.
Student Teachers Providing Programmes for Gifted and Talented Children: A Cooperative Venture between University and Schools
Authors: Taplin Margaret
Published: January 2012

In workshop situations, a group of university academic staff and final-year Bachelor of Education students offered a range of provisions for gifted and talented children from local schools. The staff acted as expert mentors in their areas of specialisation and helped the students to develop and implement a series of workshops based on the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. Evaluations of the workshops revealed positive outcomes for all groups involved. The gifted children benefited from the opportunity to work with intellectual peers. The student teachers learnt a great deal about catering for these children. The workshops served as a stimulus to the children's class teachers to develop and maintain programmes when they returned to their schools.
Developing Creative Writing Talent Through a Mentorship Program
Authors: Eng Goh Ban , Goh Doreen
Published: January 2012

The article examines the role of mentors in providing individual tutoring and support in the field of creative writing. Mentors are not only involved in the intellectual development of potential writers but also in their emotional development. The writer outlines a mentorship programme in Singapore.
Developing Talent in Saturday and Summer Programs
Authors: Enersen Donna
Published: January 2012

The article examines the role of mentors in providing individual tutoring and support in the field of creative writing. Mentors are not only involved in the intellectual development of potential writers but also in their emotional development. The writer outlines a mentorship programme in Singapore.
Testing times: problems arising from misdiagnosis
Authors: Vialle Wilma , Konza Deslea
Published: January 2012

Despite a wealth of literature that argues for multiple measures to be used in the identification of gifted students, problems continue to arise when the tests are not used appropriately or when the results of such testing are ignored by teachers. This paper describes case studies of three children and the problems that have arisen for them and their families as their giftedness has been discounted. We conclude that testing cannot occur in a vacuum but must occur within the context of intensive observations of and discussions with the child and the family. Finally, we reiterate the crucial need for adequate training in gifted education for all teachers if children are to receive an education commensurate with their abilities.
Spastics have minds that work, but bodies that can't
Authors: Maitra Krishna , Pathak Dipi
Published: January 2012

Cerebral Palsy is a disability resulting from damage to the brain before or during the birth and is manifested by muscular in-coordination and speech disturbances. They have been victims of public misunderstanding from the time that William John Little, MD, the English physician, recognised and publicised them in the year 1843. As a research project, the present investigators wanted to exp lore the world of spastic children by selecting artistry as the medium of expression of their thoughts, feelings, problems and needs. The study, through natural and participant observation as well as through interviews with counsellors, psychologists and medical professionals drew profiles of spastic children. The analysis of their drawings/paintings reflected their healthy bent of mind, positive attitudes towards life and necessity to be surrounded by happiness and healthy conditions. The study on the basis of their findings has given some concrete suggestions for the teachers and the parents with a proper accent on the following: ‘The disabled are people too. All people are different. What is so special about their difference?’
Forging links between science and literature: A heuristic approach
Authors: Heaney Liam F.
Published: January 2012

This article offers a modular approach to the teaching of science and literature at advanced level and beyond. The article emphasizes the importance of developing independent study skills over a range of subject areas, with the intention of giving breadth and balance to a topic.

Six units of work are presented, covering aspects of scientific and literary thought, for tutors and students to follow. Each unit of work can be taught separately or as part of the overall course on aspects of scientific and literary thought.

Each unit of work takes a single topic, briefly sets the context, offers activities that students could read about, discuss and write essays on, followed by a select reading list, that directly supports the topic under consideration.

The course of study comes supplied with an introduction, aims and objectives and a final section on assessment.

The implications of such a teaching programme are essentially threefold. Firstly, a changing world requires a range of qualities from individuals. These include the ability to think, to act, to apply and to receive knowledge. Furthermore, the ability to pursue links between different forms of knowledge and to communicate effectively are becoming even more important. Secondly, developing and fostering opportunities for individuals to work independently and to work as a member of a team, is beneficial and relevant for both the ‘world of work’ and/or for research at university level. Thirdly, closer integration between science and literature is important for enhanced community understanding, at both local and on a broader global level. The sharing of ideas is ultimately the means whereby we all make progress. This is as much the case, within our own academic fields, as it is on a broader, holistic, world basis.
Practice and Theoretical Exploration of Supernormal Education of Mathematics in Gifted and Talented Children from 6–8 Years
Authors: Zhiping Liu , Pengzhi Liu
Published: January 2012

From 1992 we began to explore supernormal education of mathematics in gifted and talented children selected from the first and second grades of several primary schools and it seems a great success. We are the first to carry out such activity in the Beijing area and have compiled and published four textbooks of teaching materials which have been adopted by many schools.

It is intended in this paper to provide a briefing on the status of offering such education. The problems encountered in the supernormal education and the teaching experiences accumulated are discussed on the following issues: Start-up with audio-visual geometry Stress on combination of shape and number Launching our mathematics activities Stimulation of ability of imagination Application of the discovery method Induction-find the University regularity Mathematics-search out model Modernization on mathematics education

We firmly believe that all the above issues are extremely important to the supernormal education of mathematics in gifted and talented children from 6–8 years.
Korean Gifted Girls: The Achieved and the Unachieved
Authors: Cho Seokhee
Published: January 2012

To identify the factors which facilitate or hinder personal career advancement of Korean gifted females, 162 graduates from the most prestigious girls' high school in Korea were studied using qualitative methods and in particular, documents such as alumnae records, questionnaires and interviews. Half of the gifted females had been included in a publication entitled ‘Korean Eminent Women’ and the other half were full-time housewives. The two groups were compared on their perceptions of their family background, school experiences, career development, career choices, life and marriage satisfaction, and attribution of their success and failure as professional women. Results indicated that gifted girls whose aspirations for career development were supported by their families and who were determined to advance in their careers achieved in their professional lives. The results imply that in Korean society, which remains a “patriarchal democracy” only those gifted females who were strong enough in their own convictions to discount the pressures of stereotypical attitudes limiting women's role in society to that of mothers and housewives, could achieve in their careers.
Refocusing the Lens: Using Observation to Assess and Identify Gifted Learners
Authors: Rogers Judith A.
Published: January 2012

Reconceptualized definitions of intellectual competence and giftedness have been proposed as have student-centered methods of assessment that inform classroom practice. Yet methods used to assess and identify the gifted have remained constant through the years and these methods reflect neither new definitions or current assessment understandings. A process that embodies new ideas, the DISCOVER assessment process, is described and presented as a method to use to document students' problem-solving abilities in several of Gardner's intelligences.
Undoing Underachievement and Promoting Societal Advancement of Women and Girls
Authors: Lupart Judy , Wilgosh Lorraine
Published: January 2012

Yewchuck and Chatterton (1990) found stereotypical attitudes of others the strongest deterrent to career success for women. Wilgosh (1993) also examined how societal expectations of girls influence their failure to realize their full potential, particularly in mathematics and sciences. This paper focuses on undoing underachievement of women and girls. It is about a unique program that brings together training in high school and college-level mathematics and sciences and better linkages between schools, post-secondary institutions and the business community. The program contributes significantly in the preparation of students for skilled, technological occupations in a knowledge-intensive economy. The Shad Valley Program is a co-educational, residential summer program offered to gifted high school students at eight Canadian universities, dedicated to building bridges between industry and education, especially in the areas of science, technology, and entrepreneurship. A fifteen year retrospective study of its applicants and participants will provide direction for schools and businesses in the identification of key personal and educational experiences that contribute to increased levels of science literacy for both male and female students.
Is There Moral Giftedness?
Authors: Hague William J
Published: January 2012

Are the higher levels of morality a gift given to some? The first part of this paper describes higher levels of morality by contrasting two approaches: Kohlberg's Cognitive Developmentalism and Dabrowski's Positive Disintegration. The roots of the more holistic theory, Positive Disintegration, are traced back to traditional appreciations of life-death cycles to develop the broad context of dynamic forces within human development and, more specifically, the value issues indigenous to speaking of “higher” and “lower” levels of moral development.

Rather than a strictly cognitive activity for solving moral dilemmas, high level morality is seen as a function of the total person, especially factors that constitute developmental potential. Higher morality is then not totally a gift but something chosen, striven for, and indeed the result of some kind of disintegration.
Educational Careers for Gifted Students in Sweden
Authors: Reuterberg Sven-Eric
Published: January 2012

The 10 per cent most able students from a nationally representative sample of Swedes is followed up from the age of 13 to the age of 26. The study aims at investigating the impact of different factors, i.e. school marks, support from teachers and parents, attitudes to school, self evaluation of achievement, and economic factors on entrance into higher education.
New Perspectives, New Directions in the Discovery and Development of Gifted and Talented Children in Portugal
Authors: Cardoso M Lourdes Saleiro , Coutinho Arabela M , Fernandes Paulo B
Published: January 2012

Intellectual development has to do with the frame of stimulation and training amongst which the language and the processes of physical interaction are fundamental. Though, without a proper equilibrium in the personal emotions and proper surroundings, it can lead to social inabilities. In order to avoid such situations an intelligent and creative educational practice (school and family) should respond efficiently to the demands of the children. Therefore, a bridge should be established between educational legislation and the reality. In this scope perspectives and directions are presented for the discovery and development of gifted and talented children in Portugal.
The “Ill-Structured Problem” is NO PROBLEM for Gifted Curriculum Design
Authors: Felton Thomas A
Published: January 2012

A unique curriculum design approach, “the ill-structured problem,” used for a gifted foreign language program has implications for many subjects. This approach is based on the premise that school curricula should be designed close to real life situations. Answers become solutions to real problems—problems that are defined and explored by students, not structured by teachers.

Chesapeake Public Schools offers a summer FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary School) Program for its academically gifted fifth and sixth grade students. This curriculum design approach has been very successful in motivating both pupils and teachers. On the first day of class students confront an “undecorated” room. It becomes their task to make the classroom an island of the culture they are studying. This cultural island becomes a place where students exhibit their ongoing exploration of the target language. Students are asked a series of questions designed to guide them toward a structure for their language acquisition. What do you want to learn? How do you want to learn it? With these questions, students begin to build their curriculum. The acquired knowledge of the new language and culture is reinforced daily.

The “ill-structured problem” curricula design model is a perfect match for the creative, intelligent student.
Maximising the Potential of the Gifted Child in the Regular Classroom: A Professional Development Issue
Authors: Moltzen Roger
Published: January 2012

Although most gifted students in most countries spend most of their time in the regular classroom, attention to equipping the regular class teacher to cater effectively for the gifted and talented in this context has been minimal. The opposition to basing primary provisions for the gifted in the regular classroom are more a legacy of the past, and often more difficult to sustain in the light of pedagogical shifts in many countries.

On the other hand, our efforts directed at provisions outside the regular classroom, and particularly the pullout programme approach, may not have yielded the positive outcomes it was expected they would.

The proposition of this paper, based on the author's extensive teaching experience, numerous professional development courses for preservice and inservice teachers, and first hand investigations of programmes for the gifted in a number of countries, is that the regular classroom may well be the most appropriate environment for the ‘primary’ delivery of programmes for most gifted students.

The rationale for such a position is outlined, together with the essential elements of such an approach to be effective.
Stewardship and Accountability: Valued Elements in Maximising Human Potential
Authors: Todd Sally M
Published: January 2012

Teachers and parents involved with gifted and talented programming disseminate something which carries with it a great need for resourcefulness and initiative, that of distributing roles and responsibilities within a given organisation. This process of allotting responsibility, giving room for individual initiative and resourcefulness in carrying out that responsibility, and ultimately requesting accountability for what has been accomplished is referred to as stewardship. The principle of stewardship functions on all levels in a heirarchy of leadership.

An effective leader once suggested a leadership procedure for one who has supervision or direction over others' lives: “Teach them correct principles, and then they govern themselves.” Based on this perspective Five Stewardship Principles suggest a practical process by which leaders may effectively handle their own stewardships and effectively guide those who work under them in fulfiling their stewardships as well.
Matrix of Science Skills for Nature Walks
Authors: Hale Margret
Published: January 2012

The Nature Walk program at the French International School, Hong Kong, has a high Science Content. It is used as a major scientific investigation for Primary aged students. It involves Problem Solving.

It encourages the use of community and adult resources.

It gives the students the right to choose their learning style by teaching the students to handle a variety of observation, research and learning techniques, encouraging a high level of understanding of the content material, and allowing the presentation of learned materials in a variety of products as projects. The disciplines used to understand the scientific investigation, draws on and focuses on the whole school curriculum.

Exposure of the students to real life situations, such as the focused field trips, or Nature Walks, allows the students to systematically examine their own ability to handle real-life problem solving. The approach allows the students to utilize their ability to handle a variety of observation and research techniques, information processing skills from all the subject areas of the school curriculum. The final product in the form of a negotiated project requires the students to use higher level information skills on the walk, during the research period and for the final project.

The focused field trip inverts the usual classroom situation. Field trips may reverse the order of learning that usually occurs in the classroom. Students gain knowledge and access information in a cycle which goes from:
The Challenge of Space Futures: Starcomber's Galactic Voyage to Xeranthemom
Authors: Shimonauff Jacqueline
Published: January 2012

This article gives practical detail of a curriculum extension programme about space futures.
A Promising Approach for Identifying Gifted Aboriginal Students in Australia
Authors: Gibson Kay L.
Published: January 2012

Recently research was conducted in Queensland, Australia which was designed to describe a more effective approach for the identification of gifted students. The purpose of the research was to contribute to the improvement of current procedures used in the identification of gifted minority children, particularly urban Aboriginal gifted children. The five year study of Dr. Mary M. Frasier at the University of Georgia served as a basic design model for the research.

This paper reports the findings from the two data collection activities of the research project. Firstly interviews of urban Aboriginal community members, including parents of gifted Aboriginal children, were undertaken followed by a state wide survey of Aboriginal teachers in Queensland. The aim of both was to gain information concerning how giftedness was perceived and described by urban Aboriginal community members. This information was then utilised to establish the viability of Frasier's work in the identification of Australian gifted Aboriginal students and to suggest modification to Frasier's model which would heighten its cultural relevance to the Aboriginal society
Prediction of Outstanding Achievement in the Natural Sciences
Authors: Sieglen Joachim , Trost Günter
Published: January 2012

The Institute for Test Development and Talent Research is conducting a longitudinal study which started in 1973 on a nationally representative sample of 9,000 persons who then graduated from upper secondary sehool and were followed up ever since at five-to-six-year intervals. Out of this sample and, in addition, out of the former scholars of the most selective German national scholarship program, 40 persons were identified who had, by their mid-thirties and later on, achieved outstanding and influential research results in the natural scienees. This group was compared with the total representative group in terms of a number of potential predictor variables.

The most distinctive features were: The outstanding scientists had achieved much higher performance both in sehool and in university. They pursued to a higher extent curricular and extracurricular interests in the areas of natural sciences and mathematics during adolescence. They were much more inclined to tackle intellectual problems (and did so more sucessfully), and they participated more frequently in academic competitions. They had and have a much higher professional motivation: their career decisions were more heavily based on intrinsic and achievement-oriented motives, and the average time per week they devote to their work is considerably higher.
Suicide among Talented Youngsters: A Sociocultural Perspective
Authors: de Souza Fleith Denise
Published: January 2012

To be gifted and talented does not necessarily mean to be happy and secure. Emotionally stressed bright youngsters have been receiving considerable attention as a population who may be vulnerable to suicide. However, to have a comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon, it is necessary to view suicide from a sociocultural perspective. This article discusses suicide among talented students, focusing on the role of family, school, community and culture in suicide prevention.
Hong Kong Chinese People's View of Creativity
Authors: Rudowicz Elisabeth , Hui Anna
Published: January 2012

This study was aimed at attaining some sense of implicit concepts of creativity among Hong Kong Chinese across different populations of participants and finding out how these implicit concepts compare to explicit concepts grounded in Western culture and tradition. Three stages of investigation are reported. In the first stage, 370 persons at railway and subway stations were asked to give their views on creativity and nominate Hong Kong person(s) outstanding for creativity, They were also asked to provide some demographic data and rate themselves on the creativity scale. In the second stage, 34 persons nominated in the first stage as outstanding for creativity were given the same task as the general public. In the third stage, local academics working in the area of creativity were asked to assign the categories of answers generated in the first and second stages of the study into one of the creativity strands: process, product, person or press. It was found that some core parts of the implicit concepts of creativity were overlapped highly across sex, age, education and occupational status variables. In other parts of the concept, how-ever, differences were found between males and females, teachers and laypersons, persons with tertiary education and other groups. Points of agreement between the implicit concepts of Hong Kong Chinese and explicit ones in the Western literature of creativity were these which linked creativity with something new, unique, leading to change and based on the independent thinking initiated by internal power and energy. However, originality, self expression as well as aesthetic and artistic elements were almost invisible in the Hong Kong implicit concepts of creativity.
Storytelling and Personal Traits: Investigating the Relationship between Children's Storytelling Ability and Their Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Traits
Authors: Lori Ali A.
Published: January 2012

The relationship between Bahraini 3rd and 4th graders' storytelling ability and each of their interpersonal and intrapersonal traits is reported in this article. To examine the existence of such a relationship, the DISCOVER process of assessment (Maker, Nielson and Rogers, 1992) was used. Results Indicated that there was significant relationships between students' storytelling and their personal traits. Additional statistical analysis revealed that 3rd grader were better storytellers than 4th graders. Based on these findings, the researcher recommended educational implications which might have impacts on similar students' linguistic and communicative competencies.
Validating the Results of Test Scores: A Case Study in Career Counselling, Illustrating How a Gifted Child May Benefit from Job Analyses
Authors: Maree J G
Published: January 2012

Career counselling theories have traditionally been concerned with optimizing the fit between an individual and his or her environment — e.g. the trait and factor theory and the matching of environmental and personality characteristics — as the relational aspect of career theory. However, it is equally important to recognize the environment that any person knows and with which he or she interacts as he or she continually makes and remakes (shapes) his or her career and or world.

Executing job analysis is a problem-solving way of furthering career counselling. In this way, clients are encouraged to take a more active role in the counselling process. When students utilize job analysis concerning specific careers, they become aware of the specific requirements of a certain career and they are also able to compare their own personal profile to the profile of the career. By means of these mentioned factors, career counselling is conducted and presented in a more scientific way; in this way pupils are also integrated into the work situation according to the personal as well as the work requirements. Utilisation of this strategy in career counselling may potentially contribute significantly towards optimising the ‘fit’ or ‘match’ between youths' personal potential and their prospective careers. It is rather deplorable that more career counsellors do not take the trouble to guide youths towards the construction of meaning and getting motivated to excel. This paper is concluded with a case study, exemplifying the potential meaning of job analysis in administering career counselling to gifted students.
The Effect of Music on Acquiring Vocabulary with Technically Gifted Students
Authors: Quast Ulrike
Published: January 2012

Resulting from the international co-operation in the field of technology there is a growing demand for foreign language skills and, consequently for optimizing language acquisition processes of students of technical subjects.

This paper describes the role of music in language learning processes with technically gifted students, in the realm of the alternative teaching concept of suggestopaedia.

The documented empiric study on the influence of several genres of music on suggestopaedic learning is designed to contribute to the increase of the efficiency of language acquisition processes with students with technical giftedness.

The main aims of the study are: to demonstrate the effect of various background conditions (genres of music; silence) on cognitive and affective variables during group learning; to describe specific background effects in interaction with selected students' characteristics (gender, foreign language learning ability, musicality, average feeling state).
A Differentiated Program: Significant Curriculum Adaptations
Authors: Alonso Juan A.
Published: January 2012

Curricular adaptations mean what, how and when to teach as well as what, how and when to be evaluated. Adaptations, therefore, have an effect on curricular aims, contents, method and evaluation. Even though functioning autonomously, the curricular adaptation of one of all these factors necessarily means modifying the others. The model to be presented takes into account that any decision having an effect on one factor will influence alt of them.

It is possible to carry out some structural and more less constant adaptations at different levels in order to adapt the curriculum to a faster rate of learning. Obviously, the faster the learning is, the deeper the adaptation must be. However, when the learning rate is more standardized, the appropriate modifications can be introduced by any teacher capable of noticing diversity among his/her students. Significant curricular adaptations, however are those which involve very deep changes concerning aims and content, and they also imply modifying emanation criteria.
Guanfacine effects on stress, drug craving and prefrontal activation in cocaine dependent individuals: preliminary findings
Authors: Fox Helen C , Seo Dongju , Tuit Keri , Hansen Julie , Kimmerling Anne , Morgan Peter T , Sinha Rajita
Published: January 2012

Cocaine dependence is associated with increased stress and drug cue-induced craving and physiological arousal but decreased prefrontal activity to emotional and cognitive challenge. As these changes are associated with relapse risk, we investigated the effects of α2 receptor agonist guanfacine on these processes. Twenty-nine early abstinent treatment-seeking cocaine dependent individuals were randomly assigned to either daily placebo or guanfacine (up to 3 mg) for four weeks. In a laboratory experiment, all patients were exposed to three 10-min guided imagery conditions (stress/stress, drug cue/drug cue, stress/drug cue), one per day, consecutively in a random, counterbalanced order. Subjective craving, anxiety and arousal as well as cardiovascular output were assessed repeatedly. Brain response to stress, drug cue and relaxing imagery was also assessed during a functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) imaging session. In the current study, guanfacine was found to be safe and well-tolerated. Lower basal heart rate and blood pressure was observed in the guanfacine versus placebo group. Guanfacine lowered stress and cue-induced nicotine craving and cue-induced cocaine craving, anxiety and arousal. The guanfacine group also showed increased medial and lateral prefrontal activity following stress and drug cue exposure compared with placebo. Data suggest further exploration of guanfacine is warranted in terms of its potential for reducing stress-induced and cue-induced drug craving and arousal.
Cortical hyperexcitability in migraine and aversion to patterns
Authors: Haigh SM , Karanovic O , Wilkinson F , Wilkins AJ
Published: January 2012

Background: Patients with migraine are averse to certain visual stimuli, such as flicker and striped patterns that evoke paroxysmal EEG activity in patients with photosensitive epilepsy. Migraineurs demonstrate a hyper-responsiveness to such stimuli, and there is debate as to whether the aversion and hyper-responsiveness are due to a hyperexcitability of the cortex similar to that in patients with photosensitive epilepsy. In these patients grating patterns with certain spatial characteristics can be epileptogenic, depending critically on their movement. If the contours of the grating drift continually, the grating is not epileptogenic, but if the contours are static or if their direction is repeatedly and rapidly reversed so as to vibrate, the grating then becomes highly epileptogenic.

Methods: We compared aversion to vibrating, drifting and static gratings in migraineurs and controls. The contrast of each grating was gradually increased, but only until the participant felt discomfort, so as to obtain a contrast threshold for aversion with minimal exposure.

Results: Migraineurs had lower thresholds than the control group, indicating greater aversion. For both groups the threshold was higher (aversion was lower) for static than for both types of moving gratings. The drifting gratings were more aversive than the vibrating gratings when both groups were combined.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that the aversion shown by migraineurs is not attributable to a cortical hyperexcitability similar to that in photosensitive epilepsy.
Self-Determination and Access to Postsecondary Education in Transitioning Youths Receiving Supplemental Security Income Benefits
Authors: Berry Hugh G. , Ward Michael , Caplan Leslie
Published: January 2012

Using data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study–2, this article examines the relationships among three of Wehmeyer’s components of self-determination (autonomy, empowerment, and self-realization) and subsequent reported access to postsecondary education in transitioning youths receiving Supplemental Security Income benefits. Results of logistic regression methods indicated that higher levels of empowerment and autonomy were associated with a higher likelihood of participation in 2-year and 4-year colleges. No such associations were observed for participation in vocational and technical postsecondary programs. Implications for educators are discussed.
Properties and morphology of injection- and compression-molded thermoplastic polyurethane/polypropylene-graft-maleic anhydride/wollastonite composites
Authors: Chuayjuljit S , Ketthongmongkol S
Published: January 2012

The mechanical properties, morphology, thermal stability and flammability of thermoplastic polyurethane/polypropylene-graft-maleic anhydride/wollastonite composites (TPU/PP-g-MA/wollastonite) were investigated. TPU was melt mixed with two loadings of PP-g-MA (5 and 10 phr) and subsequently with 5 phr PP-g-MA and four loadings (10, 20, 30 and 40 phr) of wollastonite mesh size 2000 microparticles on a twin screw extruder. The extrudates were pelletized and then molded into test specimens by injection- and compression-molding. The stiffness and thermal stability of the TPU were found to be improved as a result of the incorporation of PP-g-MA and wollastonite, although the extent of such depended upon and varied with the processing technique. The injection-molded specimens exhibited a higher tensile strength and elongation at break, and a lower Young’s modulus, than the compression-molded specimens of the same composition. The limiting oxygen index values were slightly increased by the presence of wollastonite in the composites. Moreover, the morphologies of the injection- and compression-molded samples observed by scanning electron microscopy showed the orientation and nonorientation of the wollastonite microparticles, respectively.
Us and them: Young people’s constructions of national identity in Cyprus
Authors: Leonard Madeleine
Published: January 2012

The purpose of this article is to explore young people’s constructions of national identity in Cyprus. The article is based on focus group discussions with 20 Greek-speaking and 20 Turkish-speaking young people between 13 and 15 years of age, drawn from two schools in the divided capital city of Nicosia. The article explores both the ways in which Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot young people understand their own identity and the degrees of their allegiance to an overarching identity as ‘Cypriot’, rather than Turkish/Greek Cypriot. The article reflects on the contradictions young people face in divided societies where there are competing discourses around national identity.
Compensation of reference surface errors in the machining of free form features
Authors: Fallah Meghdad , Arezoo Behrooz
Published: January 2012

One of the major sources of error in machining operations is the inaccurate positioning of the workpiece in the fixture. Generally, the surface of the workpiece that is in contact with the fixture locators is used as a workpiece reference surface (WRS). Errors in the WRS can lead to improper placing of the workpiece in the fixture and, in turn, to inaccurate machining operations. In this paper, a method is introduced that eliminates the effect of WRS errors on machined features produced in a milling operation. In the proposed method the positioning of the workpiece with consideration of WRS errors is mathematically modelled using homogenous transformation matrices. This model is then used to compensate the effect of WRS errors by modifying the machining toolpath. A post-processing workpiece error compensation module is developed that modifies the initial NC-codes that are generated from a CAM system. The presented method is verified using the simulation software NX and VERICUT and experimental studies. The results confirm that this method can be used to successfully compensate these kinds of errors.
Analysis and simulation of the gearshift methodology for a novel two-speed transmission system for electric powertrains with a central motor
Authors: Sorniotti Aldo , Holdstock Thomas , Pilone Gabriele Loro , Viotto Fabio , Bertolotto Stefano , Everitt Mike , Barnes Robert J , Stubbs Ben , Westby Matt
Published: January 2012

Electric vehicle powertrains traditionally consist of a central electric motor drive, a single-speed transmission and a differential. This electric powertrain layout, for use in either fully electric vehicles or through-the-road parallel hybrid electric vehicles, will be extensively adopted in the next few years, despite the ongoing research in electric vehicles with individually controlled motors. However, current research suggests that electric powertrains with a central electric motor drive can still be widely improved. For example, the installation of a seamless multiple-speed transmission instead of a single-speed transmission can cause an increase in the vehicle performance, together with an enhancement in the overall efficiency of the electric powertrain. These novel transmission systems for electric powertrains require a specific design, in order to be efficient, compact, easy and robust to control and cheap to manufacture. This article presents the mechanical layout and the control system of a novel two-speed transmission system designed by the present authors, with particular focus on the achievement of optimal gearshift dynamics. The torque characteristics of typical electric motor drives require a different actuation of the seamless gearshifts, in comparison with the equivalent operation for a dual-clutch transmission within a powertrain driven by an internal combustion engine.
Influence of the interteeth clearances on the flow ripple in a gerotor pump for engine lubrication
Authors: Gamez-Montero Pedro-Javier , Castilla Robert , del Campo David , Ertürk Nihal , Raush Gustavo , Codina Esteve
Published: January 2012

A gerotor pump, which is widely used in the automotive industry for engine oil lubrication, produces an instantaneous flow fluctuation and the estimation of this is fundamental in order to evaluate the pump quality for silent and smooth operation. The intricate aspects of the pumping process of a gerotor pump make computational fluid dynamics the appropriate tool for modelling and simulation to provide insights into its flow characteristics. Because the instantaneous flow is rather dependent on the teeth contact, a new boundary condition of a virtual wall was developed, which allows simulation of the teeth contact in the interteeth radial clearances. This new boundary condition is utilized in a three-dimensional model of the gerotor pump with mesh deformation and remeshing at every time step by means of a home-made ad-hoc code programmed by the present authors and named viscous wall cell. The code has been integrated into the computational fluid dynamics solver. The interteeth clearances are studied under the following different operating conditions (working pressures and rotational velocities): first, no contact points (no teeth contact is studied in order to prove that, even if the interteeth radial clearance is sufficiently small, the leakage cannot be negligible); second, all contact points (the ideal approach is considered with zero interteeth radial clearances used to model zero manufacturing tolerances); third, one contact point at different locations (the existence of manufacturing tolerances and the teeth contact approach make the pump’s operation and its pumping mechanism more realistic in the simulation). The numerical instantaneous flow is compared with the analytical instantaneous flow, with the instantaneous flow modelled by using the bond graph technique, and with the experimental determination of the flow ripple for a specific unit. The results obtained show the importance of simulating the teeth contact and prove to be an excellent estimation of the instantaneous flow behaviour to obtain the dynamic properties of a gerotor pump under more realistic conditions than its design.
An investigation into the station capacities for personal rapid transit systems
Authors: Sohn Keemin
Published: January 2012

The introduction of personal rapid transit (PRT) systems has been widely discussed in the field of transportation research. However, there is no robust criterion to derive station capacities, which is the determinant of overall capacity for a PRT system. The present study has provided a methodology to rigorously compute the capacity for simple serial-berth PRT stations with a single platform by considering three decisive factors: the demand level of incoming cars and outgoing passengers, the station structure and the operation strategy. A micro-level simulator was developed to analyze and derive station capacities for various combinations of these factors. In particular, the relationship between the wave-off rate and the waiting time, the factors that represent the level of passenger service, was investigated in detail. The station structure, represented by the number of platform berths, input queue berths and output queue berths, was also taken into account. Although a sufficient number of berths were provided (11 platform berths, 11 output queue berths and more than 22 input queue berths), it was impossible to operate a PRT station at an acceptable service level for passengers when the total demand was high (2500 per hour). Even when the total demand was less than or equal to 2000 per hour, it turned out that a relatively large number of station berths is required to ensure the service level.
Robust finite-time control for spacecraft attitude stabilization under actuator fault
Authors: Hu Q , Huo X , Xiao B , Zhang Z
Published: January 2012

A finite-time convergent sliding mode control (SMC) scheme is developed to solve the problem of fault-tolerant control for a rigid spacecraft attitude stabilization manoeuvre in the presence of uncertain inertia parameters and external disturbances. A new terminal sliding surface is first presented. Based on the sliding manifold designed, a robust sliding mode controller is then derived for automatically compensating the external disturbances, uncertain inertia matrix, and even time-varying actuator faults. One feature of the proposed strategy is that the design of the fault-tolerant control does not require a fault detection and isolation mechanism to detect, separate, and identify actuator faults. Lyapunov stability analysis shows that finite-time convergence of spacecraft attitude orientation to the equilibrium point can be accomplished with great robustness to disturbance and actuator faults guaranteed. Numerical simulation results are also presented that not only highlight the closed-loop performance benefits from the control law derived here, but also illustrate the proposed procedures and their effectiveness when compared with a conventional SMC scheme for spacecraft attitude stabilization control.