Mapping our Progress: Identifying, Categorizing and Comparing Universities’ Ethics Infrastructures

Ethics researchers have scrutinized ethical business problems, which have been demonstrated through the actions of managers at Enron, WorldCom, and Arthur Andersen, among others. In response to these business transgressions, the US government has implemented the Sarbanes–Oxley Act to shore up businesses’ ethics infrastructures. However, universities, too, struggle with ethics problems. These include NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) violations, discrimination issues, sexual harassment, endowment admits, plagiarism, and research funding manipulation. Despite these problems, we have little knowledge regarding universities’ ethics infrastructures and codes of conduct, and insignificant empirical research on academic ethics issues (Kelley & Chang, Journal of Higher Education, under review, 2006; Morgan & Korschgen, College Student Journal, Sept., 2001). This lack of knowledge exists despite the critical role universities play in shaping the moral behavior of future generations (Langlais, The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 13:B11, 2006; Woo, BizEd, May/June:22–27, 2003). In this paper, we conduct exploratory research to identify the elements of universities ethics’ infrastructures. From our research, we develop an understanding of the ethics policies and infrastructure elements in place at a representative group of universities. We compare these infrastructures to those in business as well as across Carnegie Classifications. We then conclude with recommendations for developing university ethics infrastructures and suggestions for future research.     

Une synthèse des formations et ressources disponibles pour encourager l’excellence dans l’enseignement de la psychologie dans l’enseignement supérieur au Royaume-Uni

This review considers the range of training and resources that are available to support excellence in the teaching of psychology in higher education in the UK. Various sources of support are reviewed, including both generic and specific mechanisms provided by either the Higher Education Academy (HEA) or the British Psychological Society (BPS). The training considered ranges from that provided for all new lecturers in the UK by their institutions, through to bespoke seminars and workshops delivered by the HEA and the BPS. Resources include written guidance, websites and sources of funding to support the development of teaching and learning. It is concluded that whilst there are currently some excellent resources available to support psychology teachers in higher education, recent changes to the HEA have created some uncertainty in the sector.     

Domain-specificity in perfectionism: Variations across domains of life

Perfectionism has been assessed in relation to salient or narrow domains within specific populations, yet little is understood across broader domains of life. The aim was to assess positive perfectionism (PP) and negative perfectionism (NP) in five broad domains; university/work, relationships, physical activity, domestic environment and appearance and to determine any gender differences within domains. One hundred and forty four university students (females n = 101; males n = 43) completed a modified perfectionism measure for each domain. Correlations within and between domains for PP and NP ranged from low to moderate with differential patterns by gender, supporting more domain specificity and less of a universal trait. Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed that, overall, PP and NP in the university/work domain was significantly higher than all other domains. Females reported greater PP in the university domain compared to other domains, and more PP in the relationship, domestic environment and appearance domains as compared to the physical activity domain. In contrast, males reported significantly higher PP in the physical activity domain. Females reported significantly higher NP in the university and appearance domains, while males had similar NP across all domains. These findings present a more complex picture of perfectionism with implications for domain-specificity in perfectionistic behavior.     

中国泌尿外科学的学科建制化:北京大学泌尿外科的贡献

以科学社会学为视角,利用文献和史料,对中国泌尿外科学的学科建制化过程进行了梳理,探究了北京大学泌尿外科在中国现代泌尿外科学建制化发展进程中扮演的重要角色,分析了其在培养专业人才、设立科研机构、开展专业化教育、创办专业刊物、促进国际交流等方面做出的贡献.     

Do the mentally retarded have poor memory?

The hypothesis that mentally retarded persons have a short-term memory deficit whixh is due to inadequate rehearsal strategies is reexamined. A reevaluation of results of a number of experiments suggests that normal and retarded persons differ on short-term memory tasks, and the superiority of normals is present from the time of initial stimulus exposure. While some evidence for slope differences in retention curves is found in a few tasks, it is not strong support for memory differences. The hypothesis that “memory” differences are due to differential encoding as a result of more adequate rehearsal by the normal subjects is unacceptable. If this were the case, some differences in slope of retention curves could be expected unless rehearsal beyond the encoding stage was totally precluded. The review points to a need for an empirical reevaluation of the issue with a full recognition that deficits in particular processes may characterize some retarded persons and not others.     

Executive Functioning and Delay Discounting of Four Different Outcomes in University Students

The study investigated a potential relationship between level of executive functioning and rates of delay discounting (i.e., the subjective decrease in the value of an outcome if its delivery is delayed). University students completed an executive-functioning questionnaire and then a delay-discounting task involving four different outcomes (money, cigarettes, dating partner, body image). Results showed that the overall measure of executive functioning was a significant predictor of rates of discounting of three of the four outcomes, and approached significance for the fourth outcome. Further, different subscales of executive functioning were significantly correlated with discounting of different outcomes. These results suggest that executive functioning plays a role in discounting of delayed outcomes and that procedures designed to affect either executive function or delay discounting might result in concomitant changes in the other measure.     

大学生思维方式与应对方式的关系研究

运用思维方式问卷和应对方式问卷对663名大学生进行测试,旨在从文化视角探讨大学生思维方式的特点及其与应对方式的关系。结果表明:(1)大学生思维方式在专业、地域、年级等人口统计变量上存在显著差异:文科生思维的整体性显著高于理工科和艺术类;南方人思维的变化性显著高于北方人;大二学生思维的整体性显著高于大一和大三,大一思维的变化性显著高于大四年级。(2)思维方式对应对方式具有显著的预测作用。其中,协变性对积极应对正向作用显著、对消极应对中的自责和合理化负向作用显著;矛盾性对积极应对负向作用显著、对消极应对正向作用显著。思维的整体性和变化性针对性较强:整体性有助于解决问题的积极应对,变化性可有效避免自责、幻想、合理化的消极应对方式。     

Neutralizing sexist titles in Holland's Self-Directed Search: What difference does it make?

Sex-role stereotyping in the linguistic structure of Holland's Self-Directed Search (SDS) was examined. A revised SDS was constructed involving the removal of all masculine-toned terminology from the items and test-taking instructions, as well as the affixing of the letters M/F and F/M to all occupational titles and terms commonly perceived as gender specific. Subjects were 266 lower division female students at a large state university; 133 subjects completed the standard SDS and 133 completed the revised form. Following SDS assessment, subjects rated their inventory with respect to perceived sexual equality. Comparison variables included: daydreams, occupations' scores, summary codes, and subsequent occupational choices. Occupational choices at each stage of the assessment process were classified as nontraditional or traditional choices for women. Results indicated that across all indices derived from the standard and revised versions of the SDS, there were no significant differences in these subjects' performance. The subjects did perceive the two inventories differently, with subjects completing the standard SDS viewing it as slightly less equitable.     

Psychological well-being and scholastic achievement among university students in a Canadian Prairie City

This article reports the findings from a questionnaire survey of university students’ scholastic achievement and psychological well-being in a Canadian prairie city. Multiple ordinary least-squares regression analyses revealed that sex, educational aspirations, hours spent on studying, father’s education, physical health, financial stress, and stress due to balancing work, school, and social life were found to be significantly associated with academic performance. More specifically, female students and those who reported higher educational aspirations, indicated better physical health, experienced less financial stress or stress due to finance or to balancing work, school, and social life, spent more time on studying, and those whose father had a higher level of education were found to perform better academically. On the other hand, income, physical health, relationship with significant other, relationship with family, relationships with friends, self image, and academic stress were found to be significantly related to psychological well-being. Put succinctly, respondents who had a higher family income, reported better physical health, expressed a higher degree of satisfaction with their relationships with family, friends, and significant other, indicated a more positive self-image, and experienced less academic stress were found to exhibit a significantly higher level of psychological well-being.     

Asymmetry of perception in free viewing of chimeric faces

We have devised a new free-vision task to index functional cerebral asymmetry for processing facial characteristics. Confirming its sensitivity to properties of lateralized hemispheric functions, left- and right-handers were clearly differentiated on this task with respect to several aspects of performance that conform with known differences between handedness groups in hemispheric asymmetry. Additionally, there were highly reliable and stable individual differences in perceptual asymmetries within handedness. Analyses of items in the task revealed that most of the differences between items in the asymmetries they elicited were random.     

高校教师组织承诺结构维度及其测量

本研究通过访谈、文献分析、问卷调查,采用探索性因子分析和验证性因子分析等方法,探讨了高校教师组织承诺的结构维度.结果显示,高校教师的组织承诺结构由感情承诺、理想承诺、关系承诺、条件承诺、持续承诺和责任承诺六个因子构成.     

Recognition memory in mentally retarded persons

The continuous recognition memory of retarded and normal subjects was assessed. The stimuli were magazine pictures, arranged so that lags of up to 250 pictures occured. The overall performance of the retarded subjects was poorer, in terms of hit rate or d′. However, the differences were present at 0 lag and the slopes of the forgetting curves were similar in both groups. It was concluded that differences between these subjects were due to a perception related process and not to memory.     

Cognitive counselling intervention: treatment effectiveness in an Italian university centre

Offering counselling to students is increasingly considered as a key academic service. However, the reduction of resources allocated to Italian universities emphasises the need to assess the quality of interventions. This paper presents data reporting the effectiveness of a university counselling service. A sample of 45 undergraduate students completed a cognitive-relational intervention at a counselling service in a University in the North of Italy. The project focused on the development of reappraisal skills and problem-solving strategies to manage difficult situations. The results showed a significant pre and post-intervention reduction in self-reported psychopathological symptoms (measured with Symptoms Check List 90-Revised) as well as in general levels of distress (measured with Clinical Outcome in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure). A significant increase in reappraisal levels, measured with the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, was observed, which is a focal element of the counselling intervention. There were no detectable changes in the level of suppression.     

A follow-up study on students attending a university counselling service in Northern Italy

The aims of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of a university counselling service in Northern Italy, to assess the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of students who used counselling service, and to assess the psychological conditions of the students who ended the counselling after a 4 month follow-up period. The study involved 100 students, who filled out the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), the Brief COPE Inventory, and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R). The results showed that who received counselling were positively affected by this experience. The areas of benefit were psychological well-being, coping behaviours, ability to positively reframe problems and less sense of guilt. Additional studies are needed to identify which factors influence the outcomes of university counselling services in Italy. These studies would be important to evaluate the services rendered, upgrade the skills of counsellors and visualise priority areas of need.     

L’âge subjectif en contexte de formation. Étude auprès d’une population estudiantine roumaine

Subjective age is a little-used variable in psychological research, in spite of being considered by numerous authors a more accurate indicator as compared to the chronological age. The current research aims to concentrate on the subjective age of the students while in their formation years and to identify the connections that it establishes with their chronological age and their subjective age in general. Two hundred and twenty-eight students from the university of Brasov, aged between 18 and 56 answered two questionnaires (the Romanian adaptation of the Staitz and McClay (1998) questionnaire and the adaptation of the same questionnaire to the context of academic formation). The questionnaires were separated by another one, administered for relaxation purposes. The results show that there exists a subjective age during the formation years, which is different from, but nonetheless correlated to the chronological age and to the subjective age in general. The results bring forward the impact of the context, in the given situation an academic one, on the age that one gives himself.     

Attitudes of University Students toward Lesbians and Gay Men in Turkey

The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of university students in Turkey toward lesbians and gay men. Findings indicate that relatively negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men are prevalent, but attitudes toward lesbians seem to be more positive than attitudes toward gay men. Gender differences directly affect attitudes, and religiosity also has great impact on the attitudes of the students toward lesbians and gay men. An active sex life and liberal attitudes toward premarital relations correlate with more positive attitudes toward homosexual persons. Finally, the data indicate that interpersonal contact with gay men and lesbians is associated with positive attitudes toward homosexuals.     

The similarity-attraction relationship: Is there an ideal one?

It is proposed that we are attracted to similar individuals because: (1) such individuals are similar to our ideals and (2) such individuals are similar to ourselves. Previous studies have employed a similarity manipulation which has confounded these two components. When the components are separated, similarity to the ideal was expected to exert a major influence and similarity to the self a minor influence on attraction. A series of experiments orthogonally manipulated similarity to self and similarity to ideal with a new technique involving content-free dimensions. The results indicated a consistent main effect for ideal similarity on liking and no consistent main effect for similarity to the self. Finally, the results also indicated that given any two of the three variables—similarity to self, similarity to ideal, and own self to own ideal discrepancy—subjects seemed able to infer the other or third variable in a fairly logical fashion.     

‘Working on a rocky shore’: Micro-moments of positive affect in academic work

Neoliberal ideologies, marketization and performative regimes associated with recent reforms in universities have exerted considerable pressure on academic working conditions and subjects in recent years. While analysing these pressures is important, it is also productive to consider the ways in which academics engage in moments of resistance by mobilising resources beyond those of critique. This paper therefore focuses on joy and positive affect in the everyday moments of academic life. It utilises the feminist methodology of collective biography to explore ways of making the restricted spaces of our working day more expansive and finding within them unexpected openings for joy. Our analysis of the stories included in this paper traces the mercurial and ambiguous affective atmospheres of academic work. We suggest that joy is founded upon connections with others, that it arises in different academic spaces and that it can lead to revised knowing of ourselves. We argue that the glimpses of joy evident in this paper provoke affective attunement within the everyday, sensitizing us to other fragments of joy and providing strategies to strengthen that resistance.     

生物反馈疗法对大学生考试焦虑的治疗作用

探讨生物反馈疗法对大学生考试焦虑的治疗作用。在某大学随机抽取学生1500名,采用考试焦虑量表进行筛查,选取焦虑组和对照组各30名。利用生物反馈疗法进行干预,采用脑电α波相对功率、肌电和皮电导联进行检测,每周2次,持续4周。结果表明：1.经过4周的干预,焦虑组干预前后各生理指标存在差异;2.生物反馈疗法干预考试焦虑在疗效上存在性别差异。结论：生物反馈疗法能有效降低大学生考试焦虑水平,对其治疗取得良好的效果。