bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ways of Telling: Text Repertoires in Elementary School Children
Authors: Wolf Dennie
Published: December 2017

Whenever we characterize the language styles of different groups of speakers, there is a double obligation. At the same time that we point to contrasts, it is critical to ask about commonalities. In recent years, the contrastive analysis of language in children with oral and literate speech styles has largely emphasized the differences between their patterns of speech, in particular, the “difficulties” children with oral styles encounter when they enter the literate culture of schools. In the process, we have failed to look for commonalities in children's knowledge of language use across tasks. In an effort to investigate these commonalities, children with literate and oral speech styles were asked to re-tell the same events in a number of different formats, including a play rendition with small figures and an entirely oral account. If compared to one another on a single task, the two groups of children did exhibit differences in the particular way they use language to encode events. However, each group of children also made similar types of adaptations when portraying the events through play and oral narration. As they moved from playing to narrating, both groups of children edited more carefully, combined contextual information and language differently and employed more explicit language. Thus, many young speakers, despite their own preferred style of language use, hold a common definition of the dimensions of language which can or should be modified across at least these two tasks. This basic knowledge, in addition to information about contrasts in language styles, should provide the starting point for teaching children about the differing demands of conversation, classroom discourse and writing.
“Gimme Room”: School Resistance, Attitude, and Access to Literacy
Authors: Gilmore Perry
Published: December 2017

The research presented in this paper demonstrates some ways in which a group of urban black elementary school students were denied full access to literacy based on teacher assessments of their “attitude” (i.e., social interactions which communicated their alignment with regard to the prevailing ethos of the school). Although all the children observed over the three-year period displayed extensive literacy and language skills in peer and nonschool contexts, only some were admitted to the special academic programs and higher-track classes which maximized opportunities for literacy success. Despite the presence and demonstration of literacy competence, many of these children were not ever seen as possessing such skills due to the fact that performances of their competencies were contextualized and embedded in attitudinal displays that were considered inappropriate. Thus, the underlying process involved seemed not to be the acquisition of literacy, implying a growing set of reading and writing skills. It appeared instead to be an exchange of appropriate attitudes for what can more accurately be described as an admission to literacy, a gatekeeping enterprise. A major concern for the children was not so much the problem of skill acquisition—but a problem of acquiring access to contexts where opportunities for literacy acquisition were maximized.
Epistemological Development and the Politics of Talk in Family Life
Authors: Belenky Mary Field , Clinchy Blythe Mcvicker , Goldberger Nancy , Tarule Jill Mattuck
Published: December 2017

One hundred and thirty-five women from all walks of life—some enrolled in colleges, others in programs to enhance parenting skills—were interviewed to trace women's natural epistemologies or their ways of thinking about thinking and about themselves as knowers. We describe five different ways of knowing that women use to make sense out of their experience in the world. We also examine the descriptions that the women gave of the patterns of communication in their families. The politics of talk in family life provides insight into the different kinds of environments which promote and inhibit intellectual development. Examining the politics of talk also provides insight into the role that maternal practice and maternal thinking play in promoting human development.
Women, Graduate Education, and Feminist Knowledge
Authors: Salner Marcia
Published: December 2017

This paper argues that knowledge and strategies of inquiry for producing knowledge are not gender-neutral. Bias in existing academic disciplines goes deeper than simply ignoring the existence of women as scholarly contributors or as a category for study. Bias extends to the very philosophical foundations of how inquiry is conceptualized. It extends to theories about how we think and to judgments about what constitutes “good” thinking. As a result, women in graduate school are often constrained to inquire in ways that are male-oriented and discontinuous with their life experience—to the detriment of their persistence in graduate programs. The paper discusses the relationships between feminist scholarship, science, feminist epistemology, and developments in the philosophy of science. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these relationships for the education of women.
Becoming Educated: A Journey of Alienation or Integration?
Authors: Martin Jane Roland
Published: December 2017

Today's journey of becoming educated is one of the alienation of mind from body, thought from action, reason from feeling and emotion, and self from other. Education does not have to be alienating. Our contemporary journey is a function of a definition of the educational realm and an ideal of the educated person that can be rejected. For the sake of the individual and society and, indeed, of the earth itself, an integrative journey must be substituted for our alienating one. The tasks of redefinition and reconstruction can only be accomplished, however, if we acknowledge the workings of gender in educational theory and remain sensitive to them in our practice.
Educational Reform and Class Conflict
Authors: Carnoy Martin , Levin Henry M.
Published: December 2017

Class-based analyses of education typically assume a direct relation between the system of production and the operations of the schools. Accordingly, a relatively straightforward correspondence between schools and workplaces is traced within a framework of reproduction of capitalist labor. Such analyses do not address the fact that schooling is sponsored by the state. In this article we view schooling within the democratic, capitalist state and show how the struggle between democracy and capitalism within the arena of the state is visited upon the educational system. Attention is given the influence that strong social movements can have on increasing equality in schooling and on changes in the larger social order.
The S.A.T. and Social Stratification
Authors: Owen David
Published: December 2017

The publishers of the Scholastic Aptitude Test have maintained for many years that the SAT has helped blacks and members of other disadvantaged groups get ahead in American society. But this cheerful view has no basis in fact. SAT scores have never been a threat to the social hegemony of the American white upper middle class; indeed, they have reinforced it. Most minority applicants who are admitted to selective colleges are admitted in spite of their SAT scores, not because of them. American society has indeed become more egalitarian during the 60 years the SAT has been in existence, but the test itself has had nothing to do with bringing about that social transformation. If anything, it has stood in the way.
Reproduction, Contestation, and Political Theater: Reflections on Three Productions
Authors: Shirley Dennis
Published: December 2017

This composition considers the potential of political theater to provide a medium for educational practitioners to challenge dominant ideological codes in school and society. Through an investigation of the role of three productions the author demonstrates the capacity of theater to disrupt traditional teacher and student roles through the construction of a common artistic product which is preeminently social in its origin, development, and realization. Political theater suggests a forum through which counter-hegemonic struggles can transcend verbal discussions to raise fundamental questions of social justice in a manner which is lively, accessible, and provocative to student populations.
The Decline of Literacy and Liberal Learning
Authors: Scott Barbara Ann
Published: December 2017

This paper examines the decline in performance standards on the part of both students and faculty in higher education today, a decline which is closely correlated with the rise of the “new practicality” in the college curriculum. The presumptive quest for what Veblen called “scholastic efficiency” has, the author argues, “transformed professors into ‘professional entrepreneurs,’ students into credential hustlers, and the curriculum into a wasteland of trivia and pseudo-scientific pretense ” The decline of literacy and liberal learning is not, as the conventional wisdom suggests, attributable to voluntarism. Both students and faculty are subject to a variety of external pressures, constraints, and inducements (financial and otherwise) which condition their choices for the expedient, the experiential, or the entrepreneurial. The author goes on to criticize those faculty who, in the name of a radical pedagogy, promote a “benign permissiveness” in the classroom, deflate expectations, and inflate grades. On the contrary, “intellectual discipline is necessary to the development of incisive critique and ultimately radical thought and practice.” Authentic radicals “have, to their great credit, consistently understood this.” Such a quest for, in effect, “critical literacy” demands exacting criteria of scholarship and a breadth and depth of knowledge found in the bedrock of the liberal arts and sciences curriculum.
Gifted Education and the Spectre of Elitism
Authors: Howley Aimee
Published: December 2017

This paper explains current practices in gifted education as they relate to the schools' role in legitimating existing patterns of social stratification. It discusses the way in which the anti-intellectual climate of public schools fosters the provision of noncognitive instruction to the most cognitively apt students. In particular, the paper presents arguments to support the thesis that schools provide noncognitive instruction to gifted students in order to thwart their development as intellectuals. This phenomenon is especially germane considering the historical antagonism between intellectuals and the ruling class. Finally, the paper evaluates the extent to which gifted education programs are elitist. It suggests that noncognitive programs for the gifted are necessarily elitist whereas challenging cognitive programs for such students may in fact threaten the elitism of the ruling class.
The Reconstruction of Knowledge and Educational Studies
Authors: Beyer Landon E.
Published: December 2017

The current social and political climate presents the possibility of substantial reform in educational theory and practice. At the same time, continuing developments in epistemology and social theory are bringing into question some of our most basic and cherished assumptions about knowledge, certainty, and the legitimacy of social contexts within debates over claims to knowledge. These latter critiques offer the potential of wide-ranging transformations in education. This article explores these epistemological inquiries and their relevance for curriculum and teacher education, pointing out how it may be possible to take advantage of the current clamor for educational reform to revitalize both of these aspects of educational studies.
Pedagogy, Special Education, and the Lives of Young Children: A Critical and Futuristic Perspective
Authors: Heshusius Lous
Published: December 2017

A critical view is taken of the predominant positivist-empiricist assumptions that underlie most theories in the social sciences and which have had enormous influence on special education. These mechanistic assumptions (which include linearity, predictability, quantification, fact/value separation, stimulus-response model, and fragmentation) form the foundation for textbooks in early childhood special education, screening tests, and early identification measures. In the United States they have been solidified under Public Law 94–142.

Against this backdrop, contemporary theoretical developments are noted as they provide us with more adequate principles by which to guide our work. Holism, phenomenology, and social constructionism offer valuable support to the concepts of all children as meaning makers, of growth through transformations, and of the socially constructed nature of knowing and of knowledge. Implications for early childhood education are drawn.
Stepping Inside: On Participant Experience and Bodily Presence in the Held
Authors: Beekman Ton
Published: December 2017

In this article the author argues for participant experience as a research method which is dialogically based on respect for the child. The researcher steps inside the landscape of the child to share a life-form. It is through an engaged body-presence that the researcher can experience the atmosphere and meanings from within as they are perceived in a common horizon. It is by sharing the intentions of children that the researcher can experience time and space relations as concrete life-world dimensions, with social and personal meanings. It is in this concreteness of experience that the human drama can become visible if the researcher is able to express his or her experiences in a thoughtful narrative. While it is important that the researcher reflects on the narrative experiences and situates them in a broader historical and socio-economic context, he or she should not lose sight of the inspiration embedded in the real life-world of the children. The life-world reality should form a ground structure for all interpretation.
Child Abuse and the Politics of Care
Authors: Contratto Susan
Published: December 2017

This paper describes some of the powerful cultural ideologies which inform reactions to instances of sexual abuse at childcare facilities. Subtle and persistent beliefs and assumptions about mothering, families, children, and sex influence social, political, and legal reaction to this problem. The author argues that these beliefs can distort our vision of reality and possibility. She proposes goals to keep in mind when evaluating legal, political, and social proposals which arise out of concern for the health and safety of children in childcare centers.
Educational Reform, The Aging Society, and the Teaching Profession
Authors: Mathis Claude
Published: December 2017

Recent proposals for educational reform call for major changes in public education that, if implemented, will presage basic shifts in career patterns for teachers in the elementary and secondary schools of the United States. These changes, coupled with demographic trends now evident in the United States, suggest that public schools in the future will be staffed by teachers who are, on the average, older and more experienced. Reform statements often fail to recognize the symbiotic relationships of schools to the society they serve. As the population ages and becomes more pluralistic the developmental needs of teachers will change. Teaching is a unique skill that demands enthusiasm and vitality for its success. The continuing competence of those who stay in teaching beyond midcareer will depend less on personal characteristics of aging and more on the supportive nature of the context in which teaching takes place. The aging society will introduce many social issues not encountered before in schools or in other institutions. Teaching has, in the past, been predominantly a career for women, and it will likely remain so for the foreseeable future. Ways of maintaining generativity throughout a teaching career will need to become a part of professional expectations. Recent studies of career development, work, and aging provide some clues of expectation for the teaching profession.
Schooling and the Politics of Ethics: Beyond Liberal and Conservative Discourses
Authors: Giroux Henry A.
Published: December 2017

One of the major struggles for control currently being waged in American society is around the issue of schooling and moral values. However, radical educators have effectively removed themselves from this debate by substituting the discourse of moral indignation for a theory of ethics. In part, this has meant that they have been unable either to ground their own political projects and views of schooling in a moral vision or to effectively challenge the retrograde and formalistic views of ethics and schooling that have been put forth by various conservatives and liberals. This article examines the inadequacy of mainstream conservative and liberal views in this area and suggests alternative categories and interests around which a critical discourse linking ethics, education, and politics can be developed.
The Case of the Missing Brackets: Teachers and Social Reproduction
Authors: Mickelson Roslyn Arlin
Published: December 2017

Researchers have established the existence of class-based hidden curricula and their role in social reproduction. However, critics of reproduction theories argue that models of reproduction are often mechanistic and that they overlook the resistance and contradiction in schools. Previous research on social reproduction in the schools, by and large, described teacher practices, classroom relationships, and curricula-in-use, leaving the reader to infer the influence of these forces on student behavior. This essay joins the debate by offering a small but dramatic example of how the hidden curriculum penetrates a student's consciousness.

In the course of conducting research on another topic, the author observed several unexpected but vivid examples of classroom behavior which reflect the ways that students from various tracks and class backgrounds are socialized for their likely destination in the workforce. Students' reactions to missing brackets on a questionnaire followed definitive patterns predicted by reproduction theory. Observations were made in over 60 classrooms in nine comprehensive public high schools in the Los Angeles area. This article reports these observations and draws upon relevant literature, as well as the author's teaching experiences, to discuss the implications of these findings.
Sex, Pregnancy, and Schooling: Obstacles to a Critical Teaching of the Body
Authors: McDade Laurie A.
Published: December 2017

This paper focuses on how a pedagogy of the body is not facilitated in schools. An examination of the contemporary dilemma of teenage pregnancy at one school site maps the obstacles that prevent a critical teaching of the body in one historical and situational moment. Teachers presented information to students in a cloak of protectionism that was designed to shield students from stress or harsh realities but in effect promoted disinformation to students. Teachers' relationships with administrators and school boards circumscribed their abilities to critically teach a pedagogy of the body. As a result, teachers as subjects of domination were often deceived through an identity of professionalism that concealed their vulnerability to the political implications of their teaching. Finally, the author suggests that a critical teaching of issues of the body requires a vision much larger than one that is focused on a classroom or a school. Such teaching requires a vigilance in questioning all assaults on the sexual and reproductive rights of students while attending to the sexual politics of conservative agendas that are purported to be for “a student's own good.”
Discourse Systems and Aspirin Bottles: On Literacy
Authors: Gee James Paul
Published: December 2017

This paper first argues that any use of language involves three interlocking systems: the referential system (“literal meaning”), the contextualization system (which has primarily to do with maintaining social relations), and the “ideology” system (the expression of values and beliefs). It then goes on to show how these three systems operate simultaneously in oral texts constructed by two high school students, one black and one white, engaged in a school-based literacy-related task involving reading, discussion, and interpretation. A brief look at the operation of the ideology system in two different black women interviewing for jobs follows. The paper then draws a connection between the three language systems, together seen as constituting culturally variable “discourse systems,” and literacy. The conclusion is that there is a paradox in the concept of literacy: one has to define literacy either quite narrowly as “the ability to decode and encode writing” or one has to define it in such a way that reading and writing do not play a privileged role in the definition. Finally, the paper shows how an expanded view of literacy in terms of “discourse systems” applies to a practical literacy task, namely, reading the back of an aspirin bottle.
The Fierce Urgency of Now: Honoring the Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. in and Out of the Classroom
Authors: Kazemek Francis E.
Published: December 2017

The author explores how educators can best honor Martin Luther King, Jr.'s memory by using his life and works as a catalyst for getting their students and themselves to act upon school and society in a way that fosters social change. He discusses the importance of focusing on King's life and work in the classroom; presents issues which will help students and teachers not only understand King's life and work but will also help them become engaged with the ideas and problems that are vital to the world in which they live; and, finally, offers suggestions for using the study of King as a bridge to the study of other important topics.
The Role of the Family in Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Programs
Authors: Whatley Mariamne H. , Trudell Bonnie
Published: December 2017

In response to the problem of child sexual abuse, there has been a proliferation of school-based prevention programs. In conjunction with the children's programs, there have also been efforts to develop a parent education component. After examining the potential roles for adult caretakers in school sexual abuse prevention programs, we raise issues that should be considered before such programs are implemented. These issues include: the necessity of developing a true “partnership” between school and community; the possible unintended consequence of deskilling parents; the recognition that adults sought as “partners” in these programs might actually be abusers; the use of such gender-neutral terms as “abusive parent” which serve to disguise who actually abuses and who is held responsible for protecting the child; the reaction to what is perceived as intervention in the family. These issues are crucial to consider, because a haphazard approach to parental involvement could cause damage to the program, as well as to the trust that is necessary between educators and parents.
Toward Communication Praxis: Reflections on the Pedagogy of Paulo freire and Educational Change in Grenada
Authors: Hickling-Hudson Anne
Published: December 2017

In February 1980, Paulo Freire and four other educators led a two-week seminar for 55 Grenadian teachers to consider how to implement one of the important principles of the Grenada Revolution: the integration of work and study. At first the teachers understood work-study as being essentially a school program of timetabled practical subjects such as agriculture and handicraft. Through dialogue the seminar participants redefined work-study as an approach or philosophy that should unify and mutually enrich the activities of school and community. Together they wrote a booklet that synthesized their reflections and set out implementation strategies that seemed feasible in the supportive environment of the Revolution.

In the three and a half remaining years of the Revolution, Grenadian teachers worked in many education projects which had been established to launch the concept of work-study. However, most of these projects did not seem to embody the integrated approach to community development put forward in the Freire seminar. It is suggested that the seminar participants may not have fully carried out their potential for helping other groups develop toward this ideal. The paper explores possible factors which may have hindered the transition from radical communication to radical action.
Culture, Pedagogy, and Power: Issues in the Production of Values and Colonialization
Authors: Popkewitz Thomas S.
Published: December 2017

The problem of culture contains contradictory social interests. It gives reference in current political debates about the role of dominant traditions and disenfranchised groups, providing a point of reference to the tensions of modernization and control by the state. The concept of culture also entails the creation of social fields that contain power relations. Current educational reforms to alter participation and teaching can be viewed as discourse practices that establish forms of representation of self and other related to particular Western values. Efforts toward multicultural education may in fact normalize power relations and enable the supervision and regulation of individuals in a far more powerful way than older forms of colonialization.
Working Hands and Critical Minds: A Paulo Freire Model for Job Training
Authors: Shor Ira
Published: December 2017

Students in present-day classrooms commonly resist intellectual work and show a strong impatience to finish school and begin a career. This is one result of a culture war over curriculum which began after the 1960s, both inside and outside schooling, over an aggressive vocational policy imposed from the top down. A participatory and dialogic method for job-training courses, derived from Paulo Freire's ideas, can offer a critical and animating alternative to the current methods of technical instruction.
Fear of Electoral Violence and its Impact on Political Knowledge in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Söderström Johanna
Published: December 2017

The literature on electoral violence has focused on its causes as well as its scope, ignoring the implications for citizens trying to practice their political citizenship. Informed citizens are a central part of a functioning democracy. The emotive response to violence may play an important role here. This article contributes to a deeper understanding of how the voter responds to violence. Recent work on the role of emotions in politics has demonstrated its positive role for cognition, as fear can increase the individual’s propensity to amass information and reevaluate attitudes and behavior. This is tested in a hitherto unexamined context, namely, Sub-Saharan Africa, using the Afrobarometer survey (20 different countries). In general, political fear is a significant predictor of political knowledge, but in the opposite direction compared to the hypothesis. The affective intelligence hypothesis only receives partial support using this data, namely, in countries with high levels of political violence.
Dancing with Three Hands: The Identical Roots of China’s Agricultural Miracle and Crisis
Authors: Zhou Li , Fang Ping , Wang Caihong
Published: December 2017

Ever since economic reforms were launched in China in 1978, the government, as ‘the visible hand’, introduced extraordinary policies by reorganising agricultural production and providing fiscal and financial support to promote rural development. The market, on its part as ‘the invisible hand’ stimulated distribution and strengthened agricultural competitiveness. Society, as ‘the third hand’, helped agricultural development further by creating a favourable environment; reinforcing human relationships and emphasising qualities like diligence and thrift. These three hands, namely the government, market and society, then promoted agricultural development in China. However, at the same time, their unequal relationship had the opposite effect. Thus, while on the one hand, a ‘dance’ of these hands lead to great achievements in agricultural production, farmers’ income and rural development, it also created a systematic crisis of unsustainable agricultural production. So this relationship simultaneously has been the cause of the miracle and the crisis in Chinese agriculture. We conclude by saying that for the sustainable development of China’s agriculture an efficient market, an effective government and a powerful society are three necessary elements.
Book Review: Namrata Ganneri, Peter Peterson: Founders and Guardians of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai Series
Authors: Farooqui Amar
Published: December 2017

Namrata Ganneri, Peter Peterson: Founders and Guardians of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai Series. Mumbai: Indus Source Books & Asiatic Society of Mumbai, 2016, xx + 101 pp., ₹125 ISBN: 978-81-88569-99-1 (Paperback).
Book Review: Rohith Vemula, #Caste Is Not a Rumour: The Online Diary of Rohith Vemula and Kanhaiya Kumar, From Bihar to Tihar
Authors: Apoorvanand
Published: December 2017

Rohith Vemula, #Caste Is Not a Rumour: The Online Diary of Rohith Vemula. New Delhi: Juggernaut, 2016, E-book, 268 pp., ₹250.

Kanhaiya Kumar, From Bihar to Tihar. New Delhi: Juggernaut, 2016, 200 pp., ₹250, ISBN: 978-8193237274 (Paperback).
Book Review: Duncan McDuie-Ra, Borderland City in New India: Frontier to Gateway
Authors: Kipgen Thanggoulen
Published: December 2017

Duncan McDuie-Ra, Borderland City in New India: Frontier to Gateway. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2016, 207 pp., ₹4,511, ISBN 9789089647580.
An SK BARS System: Ongoing Performance Management With Municipal Police
Authors: Gillespie Michael A. , Gillespie Jennifer Z. , Sliter Katherine A. , Colatat Mahyulee C. , Nolan Kevin P. , Guion Robert M.
Published: December 2017

We present a possible solution to two seemingly paradoxical issues: (a) widespread dissatisfaction with performance management and (b) increased demand for accountability in the public sector. The current article draws from our experience with a municipal police division to clarify and extend Smith and Kendall’s Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales process to an ongoing performance management system. The resulting system holds promise for being less perfunctory and paternalistic than traditional performance management systems, while fostering transparency and accountability.
Professionalization of a Nonstate Actor: A Case Study of the Provisional IRA
Authors: Finnegan Patrick
Published: December 2017

Can nonstate militants professionalize? That is the core question of this piece. Discussions of professionalism have spread to the state military from civilian professions such as education, medicine, and law. This piece examines whether nonstate actors exhibit the same fundamental processes found within these state-based organizations. These fundamentals are the creation of a recognized internal ethos, which acts as a collective standard for those involved. A commitment to expertise and the punishment of those who do not reach these collective expectations reinforce this ethos. To answer this question, this piece examines the development of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) during the Troubles. It highlights consistencies and inconsistencies with traditional forces and argues that groups like the PIRA can professionalize and increase their effectiveness in doing so. This widens the field of professionalism studies and provides an additional lens through which to examine nonstate groups.
Stability and H∞ performance analysis for a class of impulsive differential systems
Authors: Zhu Baolong , Ma Jie , Li Shunli
Published: December 2017

The stability and [Formula: see text] performance analysis of a class of impulsive differential systems are addressed by using a two-point boundary value problem method. For convenience of computation, a sufficient and necessary condition for the existence of a solution to the two-point boundary value problem is expressed using a set of linear matrix inequalities. As an application example, we apply the suggested method to deal with the sampled-data [Formula: see text] filtering problem. A numerical example of a mass–spring system is used to verify the effectiveness of the theoretical result.
Containing, embracing and hyper-activating Britishness: British-based foreign-owned firms
Authors: Clark Ian
Published: December 2017

There are in the UK ownership forms different to the characteristics of Britishness – British-based foreign-owned firms where dominant owners may have differentiated control interests. These may contain, that is, override, national institutional characteristics embedded in a particular national capitalism. Accordingly, separating the agency of these firms from presumed business system structures may reveal how diverse patterns of firm ownership – those associated with British-based foreign-owned firms – can inform dynamic ownership developments in British capitalism which contain and hyper-activate Britishness. The article theorizes British-based foreign-owned firms and provides empirical detail on how ownership characteristics influence financial commitment and strategic control in 10 of these firms.
Empathic Concern and the Desire to Help as Separable Components of Compassionate Responding
Authors: Ministero Lauren M. , Poulin Michael J. , Buffone Anneke E. K. , DeLury Shane
Published: December 2017

When do people experience versus regulate responses to compassion-evoking stimuli? We hypothesized that compassionate responding is composed of two factors—empathic concern and the desire to help—and that these would be differentially affected by perspective taking and self-affirmation. Exploratory (Study 1) and confirmatory (Study 2) factor analyses indicated that a compassion measure consisted of two factors corresponding to empathic concern and the desire to help. In Study 1 ( N = 237), participants with high emotion regulation ability reported less empathic concern for multiple children than for one, but perspective taking prevented this effect. In Study 2 ( N = 155), participants reported less desire to help multiple children, but only in the presence of self-affirmation. In both the studies, empathic concern predicted greater distress while the desire to help predicted greater chances of donating. Compassionate responding may consist of two separable facets that collapse under distinct conditions and that predict distinct outcomes.
A multi-group analysis of the effects of individual differences in mindfulness on nomophobia
Authors: Arpaci Ibrahim , Baloğlu Mustafa , Kesici Şahin
Published: December 2017

This study aimed to investigate the impact of individual differences in mindfulness on nomophobia. We developed and validated two structural models to identify the relationship between mindfulness and nomophobia. The ‘Nomophobia Questionnaire’ and the ‘Mindful Attention Awareness Scale’ were used to obtain data from the subjects. One-way MANOVA results suggested a statistically significant difference in nomophobia based on higher versus lower mindfulness. Further, a multi-group analysis was conducted to test the hypothesized relationships in the structural models for men and women. The results revealed that mindfulness had a significant negative correlation with nomophobia for both men and women. As scores in mindfulness increased, subjects exhibited less nomophobic tendencies. Further, those subjects who had lower scores in mindfulness showed higher anxiety when they were unable to communicate. However, subjects who scored higher in mindfulness showed lower anxiety when they could not access desired information. Independent sample t-test results were variant across men and women in nomophobia. Based on the findings we conclude that mindfulness based treatments can be beneficial in dealing with nomophobia for women.
Magnesium induces preconditioning of the neonatal brain via profound mitochondrial protection
Authors: Koning Gabriella , Leverin Anna-Lena , Nair Syam , Schwendimann Leslie , Ek Joakim , Carlsson Ylva , Gressens Pierre , Thornton Claire , Wang Xiaoyang , Mallard Carina , Hagberg Henrik
Published: December 2017

Magnesium sulphate (MgSO4) given to women in preterm labor reduces cerebral palsy in their offspring but the mechanism behind this protection is unclear, limiting its effective, safe clinical implementation. Previous studies suggest that MgSO4 is not neuroprotective if administered during or after the insult, so we hypothesised that MgSO4 induces preconditioning in the immature brain. Therefore, we administered MgSO4 at various time-points before/after unilateral hypoxia-ischemia (HI) in seven-day-old rats. We found that MgSO4 treatment administered as a bolus between 6 days and 12 h prior to HI markedly reduced the brain injury, with maximal protection achieved by 1.1 mg/g MgSO4 administered 24 h before HI. As serum magnesium levels returned to baseline before the induction of HI, we ascribed this reduction in brain injury to preconditioning. Cerebral blood flow was unaffected, but mRNAs/miRNAs involved in mitochondrial function and metabolism were modulated by MgSO4. Metabolomic analysis (H+-NMR) disclosed that MgSO4 attenuated HI-induced increases in succinate and prevented depletion of high-energy phosphates. MgSO4 pretreatment preserved mitochondrial respiration, reducing ROS production and inflammation after HI. Therefore, we propose that MgSO4 evokes preconditioning via induction of mitochondrial resistance and attenuation of inflammation.
Learning manipulation skills from a single demonstration
Authors: Englert Peter , Toussaint Marc
Published: December 2017

We consider the scenario where a robot is demonstrated a manipulation skill once and should then use only a few trials on its own to learn to reproduce, optimize, and generalize that same skill. A manipulation skill is generally a high-dimensional policy. To achieve the desired sample efficiency, we need to exploit the inherent structure in this problem. With our approach, we propose to decompose the problem into analytically known objectives, such as motion smoothness, and black-box objectives, such as trial success or reward, depending on the interaction with the environment. The decomposition allows us to leverage and combine (i) constrained optimization methods to address analytic objectives, (ii) constrained Bayesian optimization to explore black-box objectives, and (iii) inverse optimal control methods to eventually extract a generalizable skill representation. The algorithm is evaluated on a synthetic benchmark experiment and compared with state-of-the-art learning methods. We also demonstrate the performance on real-robot experiments with a PR2.
How should health leaders approach morally contentious policy issues?
Authors: Kekewich Michael , Landry Joshua , Roth Virginia
Published: December 2017

In terms of their expertise, experience, and impact on patient care, health leaders occupy an important position in our health system. These leaders are expected to provide value to their constituents, and this value is connected to moral objectives that are fundamental to the delivery of healthcare. In some cases, leaders may interpret a certain politico-medical decision, policy, or directive to interfere with these moral objectives. In these instances, leaders can either expressly object to a decision or sideline moral views while enacting these policies or directives. We present several contemporary examples of these issues as well as the experiences of health leaders. Subsequently, we review relevant sections of the Canadian College of Health Leaders’ Code of Ethics to identify existing guidance. Ultimately, we conclude that more work is needed to define the role of leaders in these circumstances, as well as the limitations of any resistance.
Client Violence Against Youth Care Workers: Findings of an Exploratory Study of Workforce Issues in Residential Treatment
Authors: Smith Yvonne , Colletta Lex , Bender Anna E.
Published: December 2017

Residential treatment centers (RTCs) for youth are plagued by high turnover of youth care workers who provide round-the-clock treatment and supervision to youth with severe affective and behavioral problems. This article presents findings from a 15-month ethnographic study of workforce issues in one RTC related to youth care workers’ exposure to client violence (CV). Findings are based on 65 semistructured interviews and 490 hours of participant observation with consenting employees. Participants reported CV incidents, including punching, kicking, biting, hair pulling, choking, threats or assaults with a weapon, and other physical and sexualized violence. Workers viewed CV as an inevitable aspect of youth care work that could be reduced—though not eliminated—through proper use of de-escalation and behavior management techniques. Participants reported that exposure to CV sometimes resulted in serious physical injury and/or missed work, as well as substance abuse, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and memory loss. Participants reported that CV was the most difficult part of their jobs and cited it as a reason for leaving or wishing to leave youth care work. We conceptualize youth care workers in RTCs as a vulnerable class whose biopsychosocial well-being must be protected to better serve the vulnerable youth in their care. To that end, we suggest directions for future research on CV in residential treatment and propose measures RTCs can take immediately to better understand and prevent CV in their organizations.
Does Vocational Still Imply Tracking? Examining the Evolution of Career and Technical Education Curricular Policy in Texas
Authors: Giani Matt S.
Published: December 2017

Vocational education has historically been viewed as a mechanism for reinforcing social stratification by channeling underrepresented students into pathways with limited educational and economic benefits. However, vocational education has evolved significantly over time, most notably with the shift to career and technical education (CTE) in the Carl D. Perkins Act of 2006 (Perkins IV). Texas began reforming its approach to CTE around 2009 in response to Perkins IV. This study compared demographic patterns in CTE participation and the relationship between CTE concentration and postsecondary access for two cohorts of Texas high school graduates, the latter of which began high school under the new CTE policy. The results reveal limited stratification in CTE participation and a positive relationship between CTE concentration and postsecondary access overall, and in particular enrollment in public 4-year colleges, for the latter cohort. The results suggest CTE may be becoming more effective at providing pathways to postsecondary.
Energetic Modalities as a Self-Care Technique to Reduce Stress in Nursing Students
Authors: Kramer Deborah
Published: December 2017

This article describes the outcomes of nursing students taking a course in complementary and alternative therapies focusing on energetic modalities that were used as a means of self-care. Students kept journal logs and did a formal presentation for the class. Nursing students reported decreased stress and improved concentration, academic performance, productivity, and problem-solving while experiencing a greater appreciation of their clinical experiences. Using Therapeutic Touch and other subtle energy interactions, the students also cited improved interpersonal relationships, increased feelings of calmness, a higher degree of self-awareness and self-care, reduced physical pain, increased energy, and greater appreciation of the world around them. The theoretical framework was Margret Neuman’s theory of health as expanding consciousness. While this is an elective nursing course, the nursing students were primarily juniors and seniors already taking clinical courses. A research study with a wide sample of student participants, especially freshmen, and using quantitative as well as qualitative measures would be beneficial to determine if such a course should be part of the standard nursing curriculum to not only expand nurses’ understanding of complementary and alternative therapies but also to help students with their own self-care and influence their practice as clinicians.
Giving to Women and Girls: An Emerging Area of Philanthropy
Authors: Dale Elizabeth J. , Ackerman Jacqueline , Mesch Debra J. , Osili Una Okonkwo , Garcia Silvia
Published: December 2017

Philanthropy for women’s and girls’ causes is a growing area of interest among donors and fundraisers. However, beyond foundation giving, limited research has been conducted to understand who gives to women’s and girls’ issues and donors’ motivations for such support. Using the frameworks of collective identity and the social identification theory of care, we conducted a sequential mixed-methods study in the United States to investigate donors’ characteristics and experiences. Through a national survey, we find that women are more likely to give to women’s and girls’ causes and that age and income are the most significant determinants of this giving. In focus groups, donors report giving to women’s and girls’ causes based on three motivational themes: personal experiences of gender inequality, a belief that supporting women’s rights is beneficial for society, and the perceived effectiveness of nonprofit organizations, largely supporting the social identification theory of giving.
Synthesis of organosoluble copolyimide and preparation of fibers by dry-spinning process on a large scale
Authors: Tan Wenjun , Dong Jie , Li Zhentao , Zhang Dianbo , Zhao Xin , Zhang Qinghua
Published: December 2017

An organosoluble copolyimide (co-PI) was synthesized from 3,3′,4,4′-benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA), 1,4-bis-(4-aimino-2-triflupromethyl-phenoxy)-benzene ( p-6FAPB), and 2-(4-aminophenyl)-5-aminobenzimidazole (BIA) via the one-step polymerization using N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) as the solvent, and high-performance co-PI fibers were directly prepared by the dry-spinning process on a large scale. Scanning electron microscopic images show that all formulations of as-spun fibers exhibit elliptical cross sections as well as dense morphologies. The structural evolution of the co-PI fiber induced by the high rolling speed and post-heat-drawing treatment was studied by means of thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic thermomechanical analysis, and two-dimensional wide-angle X-ray diffraction (2D WAXD). With increasing rolling speeds, glass transition temperatures ( Tgs) and thermal stabilities of as-spun fibers slightly decrease, which may be resulted from the disentanglement of entangled molecular chains under the large deformation and high-temperature heating atmosphere in the spinning column. 2D WAXD data indicate that both increasing rolling speeds and post-heat-drawing treatment are beneficial for getting a highly ordered structure along the meridian direction of the fibers. The fibers treated at 430°C exhibit outstanding mechanical properties, and the tensile strength and modulus reach 1.44 GPa and 48.69 GPa, respectively, at a drawing ratio of 2.8.