Dialogical journal writing as ‘self‐therapy’: ‘I matter’

Aim: This case study of one woman's (Jane's) experience of dialogical journal writing presents a way of finding a ‘compassionate image’ for self‐therapy. Various theoretical analyses are indicated with Mindfulness‐based conceptualisations at the forefront. Methodology: Based on three recorded interviews, the narrative inquiry took place over a year. Methodologically, this paper is also one contribution to an ongoing debate about different research approaches in therapeutic writing research. Participants: This study took place in Aotearoa New Zealand, where both Jane and I are migrants. Discussion: This account draws on a report of self‐directed writing for well‐being, seen as an alternative to counselling or medication for depression and anxiety. It focuses on how a particular style of writing evolved and how the motivation to write continues.     

Neighborhood Social Context and Individual Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Exposures Associated with Child Cognitive Test Scores

Childhood cognitive and test-taking abilities have long-term implications for educational achievement and health, and may be influenced by household environmental exposures and neighborhood contexts. This study evaluates whether age 5 scores on the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised (WPPSI-R, administered in English) are associated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure and neighborhood context variables including poverty, low educational attainment, low English language proficiency, and inadequate plumbing. The Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health enrolled African-American and Dominican-American New York City women during pregnancy, and conducted follow-up for subsequent childhood health outcomes including cognitive test scores. Individual outcomes were linked to data characterizing 1-km network buffers around prenatal addresses, home observations, interviews, and prenatal PAH exposure data from personal air monitors. Prenatal PAH exposure above the median predicted 3.5 point lower total WPPSI-R scores and 3.9 point lower verbal scores; the association was similar in magnitude across models with adjustments for neighborhood characteristics. Neighborhood-level low English proficiency was independently associated with 2.3 point lower mean total WPPSI-R score, 1.2 point lower verbal score, and 2.7 point lower performance score per standard deviation. Low neighborhood-level educational attainment was also associated with 2.0 point lower performance scores. In models examining effect modification, neighborhood associations were similar or diminished among the high PAH exposure group, as compared with the low PAH exposure group. Early life exposure to personal PAH exposure or selected neighborhood-level social contexts may predict lower cognitive test scores. However, these results may reflect limited geographic exposure variation and limited generalizability.     

Gender differences on the WPPSI,the WISC-R,and the WPPSI-R

The WPPSI, WISC-R, and WPPSI-R were administered in a counterbalanced design to 72 children between the ages of 5 years, 10 months, 16 days, and 6 years, 7 months, and 15 days to test the hypothesis that mean verbal IQs on these scales would be higher for boys than for girls. Results indicated that the mean verbal IQs for boys were significantly (p<.05) higher than those for girls on all three scales. Also, significant (p<.05) differences favoring boys were found onVocabulary andComprehension subtests on all three scales. These differences are probably a peculiarity of these scales and may not need any elaborate theoretical explanation. However, clinical uses of verbal and performance IQ discrepancies may not justifiably ignore the examinees’ gender.     

Non-equivalence of WPPSI,WPPSI-R,and WISC-R scores

The WPPSI-R, WISC-R, and WPPSI were administered in a counterbalanced design to 72 children, between the ages of 5 years, 11 months and 6 years, 8 months, in order to determine their equivalence by testing the equality of means, variances, and covariances based on scaled scores and IQs. The results indicated that the three scales were not equivalent with respect to any of the IQs because they did not meet one or more of the criteria. The relative magnitudes of the mean IQs on the three scales were in accord with the predicted order: highest IQs on WPPSI, next highest on WISC-R, and the lowest on WPPSI-R. Results were discussed in the context of the secular inflation in IQs and the corresponding compensatory deflation built into the normative data of the new versions.     

Non-equivalence of WPPSI, WPPSI-R, and WISC-R scores

The WPPSI-R, WISC-R, and WPPSI were administered in a counterbalanced design to 72 children, between the ages of 5 years, 11 months and 6 years, 8 months, in order to determine their equivalence by testing the equality of means, variances, and covariances based on scaled scores and IQs. The results indicated that the three scales were not equivalent with respect to any of the IQs because they did not meet one or more of the criteria. The relative magnitudes of the mean IQs on the three scales were in accord with the predicted order: highest IQs on WPPSI, next highest on WISC-R, and the lowest on WPPSI-R. Results were discussed in the context of the secular inflation in IQs and the corresponding compensatory deflation built into the normative data of the new versions.     

Overlap and Uniqueness: Linguistic Componential Traits Contributing to Expressive Skills in English as a Foreign Language

This study identified robust predictors of expressive skills in academic English as a foreign language. The participants were 92 Korean-speaking learners of English. The field test of the Pearson Test of English Academic was used as a secondary data analysis. Four communicative skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) and six enabling linguistic traits (written discourse, oral fluency, grammar, pronunciation, spelling, and vocabulary) were analyzed using writing and speaking skills as dependent variables. The greatest overlapping variance was found in the relationship between reading and writing. When listening and speaking skills were controlled, the unique variance accounted by reading in the prediction of writing became marginal. The results of this study demonstrated that L2 oral language skills became increasingly important to L2 writing outcomes as language proficiency improved over time.     

Gender differences on the WPPSI, the WISC-R, and the WPPSI-R

The WPPSI, WISC-R, and WPPSI-R were administered in a counterbalanced design to 72 children between the ages of 5 years, 10 months, 16 days, and 6 years, 7 months, and 15 days to test the hypothesis that mean verbal IQs on these scales would be higher for boys than for girls. Results indicated that the mean verbal IQs for boys were significantly (p<.05) higher than those for girls on all three scales. Also, significant (p<.05) differences favoring boys were found onVocabulary andComprehension subtests on all three scales. These differences are probably a peculiarity of these scales and may not need any elaborate theoretical explanation. However, clinical uses of verbal and performance IQ discrepancies may not justifiably ignore the examinees’ gender.     

The Efficacy of Toddler-Parent Psychotherapy for Fostering Cognitive Development in Offspring of Depressed Mothers

The efficacy of Toddler-Parent Psychotherapy (TPP) as a preventive intervention for fostering cognitive development in the offspring of depressed mothers was evaluated. Mothers with major depressive disorder and their toddlers were randomly assigned to TPP (n = 43) or to a nonintervention group (n = 54) and compared to a control group (n = 61) of women with no current or past mental disorder. At baseline (age 20 months), the groups did not differ on the Bayley Mental Development Index. At post-intervention follow-up (age 3 years), a relative decline in IQ was found in the depressed nonintervention group, whereas the depressed intervention and the normal control groups continued to be equivalent, with higher WPPSI-R Full Scale and Verbal IQs. The worst outcome was found among nonintervention children whose mothers had subsequent depressive episodes. The results confirm the developmental risks faced by offspring of depressed mothers and support the efficacy of the preventive intervention in safeguarding successful cognitive development in at-risk youngsters.     

A randomized controlled trial of expressive writing in breast cancer survivors with lymphedema

Objective: Breast cancer survivors who develop lymphedema report poorer quality of life (QoL) than those without lymphedema. Expressive writing is a potential intervention to address QoL.

Design: Adult women (N = 107) with breast cancer and chronic Stage II lymphedema were randomised to writing about thoughts and feelings specific to lymphedema and its treatment (intervention) or about daily activities (control) for four, 20-min sessions.

Main Outcome Measures: Outcome measures were several indicators of QoL assessed at baseline, one, three, and six months post-intervention (total scores and subscales of Upper Limb Lymphedema 27 and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Breast). Hypothesised moderators of change in QoL were dispositional optimism, avoidant behaviours, and time since lymphedema diagnosis.

Results: There was no statistically significant intent-to-treat main effects of expressive writing on QoL. Statistically significant moderating effects on change in different indicators of QoL were observed for all three moderators. Expressive writing was more effective for improving QoL in women who were higher on optimism, lower on avoidance and had less time since a lymphedema diagnosis.

Conclusion: These results provide further evidence that there are subsets of individuals for whom expressive writing is more effective. Future research may investigate targeting expressive writing based on identified moderators.     

Examining the Use of Talk and Writing for Students' Development of Scientific Conceptual Knowledge Through Constructing and Critiquing Arguments

This study developed an analytic framework consisting of four patterns of talk and writing that can support students' engagement in construction and critique: Talk only, writing only, use of talk and writing in sequence, and use of talk and writing simultaneously. This study aimed to examine how each pattern supports students' development of scientific knowledge through the construction and critique of arguments and what cognitive functions are associated with each pattern. To trace students' knowledge development over time using the four patterns, three students were selected as target subjects. Data were analyzed using two approaches: (1) in-depth analysis of a Knowledge Development Trajectory and (2) constant comparative method. This study highlights elementary students' capability of engaging in argumentation that promotes their scientific knowledge development when provided with proper opportunities, facilitation, and time to recognize that talk and writing can be used as epistemic tools for both constructing and critiquing arguments.     

输出方式和输出时间对数字广度的影响

实验目的是探讨在不同的输出方式下,输出时间对短时记忆的影响是否相同。在数字广度实验中,给被试呈现单个数字组成的数字串,要求被试分别采用口头和书写两种输出方式来报告不同的内容：直接报告刺激呈现的单个数字串,以及在每个数字前附加不同长度的字符报告。结果发现附加字符使口头和书写的输出时间都增加。但在口头报告中,输出时间增加的同时伴随着记忆成绩下降,而书写报告的记忆成绩不受影响。讨论了此结果的意义,推测输出阶段中影响记忆成绩的可能是发音时间,而不是延迟时间。     

Logic and Philosophy of Logic in Wittgenstein

This essay discusses Wittgenstein's conception of logic, early and late, and some of the types of logical system that he constructed. The essay shows that the common view according to which Wittgenstein had stopped engaging in logic as a philosophical discipline by the time of writing Philosophical Investigations is mistaken. It is argued that, on the contrary, logic continued to figure at the very heart of later Wittgenstein's philosophy; and that Wittgenstein's mature philosophy of logic contains many interesting thoughts that have gone widely unnoticed.     

Identification with arts‐based groups improves mental wellbeing in adults with chronic mental health conditions

People experiencing chronic mental health conditions (CMHC) often report feeling socially marginalised. There is emerging evidence that social and mental wellbeing can be enhanced through participation in arts‐based programmes. In this paper, a social identity theoretical approach was applied to explore how participation in the arts may improve mental health in a longitudinal study. A one‐year prospective study of 34 choir members and 25 creative writing group members (M_age = 46, 51% female) with CMHC, involved three assessments of participants’ group identification and mental wellbeing, measured by the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale. The programmes were community‐based and facilitated by arts professionals. Multilevel modelling analyses demonstrated that participants’ mental wellbeing significantly improved over time. Greater identification with their arts‐based group (ABG) was significantly related to an increased rate of improvement in mental wellbeing. The trajectory of improvement in mental wellbeing did not differ between participants partaking in the choir or creative writing group. This study demonstrates that participation in ABGs can be effective in improving mental wellbeing in adults with chronic mental health problems, particularly for those who strongly identify with the group. This study supports ABG participation as an accessible component of mental health services.     

A twelfth‐century Muslim biography of Jesus

The biography of Jesus as it appears in Ibn ‘Asakir's Tarikh madinat dimashq comprises material which originated from the Qur'an and from the Bible (the Old and the New Testaments). It also comprises material that is neither qur'anic nor biblical: material reflecting an image of Jesus whom the Sūfi order in the medieval period was using as the prophetic authority for its ascetic teachings, and whose purpose was to make him a prototype of the ascetic (al_zahid). Furthermore, Ibn ‘Asakir, writing at the time of the Crusades, believed in the imminent qiyama of Jesus to lead the Muslims to victory and to defeat the invaders. Ibn ‘Asakir's biography of Jesus reflects the extent to which literature about the earthly career of Jesus had developed in Muslim lore by his time.     

The Writing Process: Three First Grade Teachers and Their Students Reflect on What was Learned

The purpose of this study was to describe what three first grade teachers and their students in a Midwestern school learned when engaged in the writing process. The teachers and their students were observed for one year while engaged in the writing process via a workshop environment. Different data sources were collected over time, i.e., individual interviews (teacher and student), student writing samples and anecdotal observational notes. From an analysis of the data, three categories emerged that described what the teachers and students learned: (a) First grade children can and do want to write; (b) Learning is a messy process that takes time; and (c) Empowerment is important for all. This study supported what is known about the importance of professional development that allows for individual learning over time. The teachers had time to reflect on their learning in a collaborative teaching environment. Their successes greatly affected the students' interest and engagement in their writing programs.     

Applying problem-solving approaches to school psychological reports

School psychological reports continue to be an important part of the school psychologist's work. The value of reports as a communication tool has been questioned, a criticism that may be the result of the varying objectives by which it is judged. Recently, the literature in school psychology has seen a resurgence of articles on psychological report writing. Some writers are questioning current report-writing practices but at the same time proposing alternative report formats. Empirical support is lacking for these alternative report formats compared to traditional report organization in terms of consumer preferences and the report's ability to meet its intended objectives. Simultaneously, a considerable amount of attention is being given to scientific problem solving as it pertains to school psychology practice. This study examined the preferences of school psychologists and school staff for reports varied in respect to organization as reflected in expert vs. novice problem-solving strategies. The results indicate a preference across all professional groups for the traditionally organized school psychological report. Similarly, the same result was found as to perceived expertise of the writer, readability, problem identification, and understandability of recommendations. The implications of these findings for report writing are discussed in the context of the methodological challenges involved in this research area.     

Attitudes to Death during the Holocaust: writings from the ghettos

This study explores perspectives on death from ‘within’ the Holocaust, works written in the midst of suffering which were not tempered by or influenced by survival and its traumas. The focus on thinking during the Holocaust will look at two categories of literature written during the Holocaust, which were hidden or distributed by their authors who did not survive. The first involves secular diarist accounts of life in ghettos and the second is the ‘theological’ writing of religious leaders writing for their followers (Rabbi Shapiro'sEsh Kodesh (The Holy Fire) from the Warsaw Ghetto and Rabbi Tiechtall'sEm Habanim Smecha (The Happy Mother of Children) from Budapest). This literature is studied in relation to a number of key questions: how death was recorded; evidence of religious rituals concerning death; how the rituals helped people to cope with death; and the nature of theological debate at the time.     

ZIONISM AND THE DETECTIVE

The films Moishe Ventilator and The Blaumilch Canal are the vehicles for an examination of the writing of the Israeli territory through the symbolic representation of that space: a map. At the centre of the plot of both films is a detective who pursues a missing map and, in doing so, reveals the dialectic between a territory and the writing of this territory, or between homeland and the “correct” map. All this is at the pivotal period of time in Israel's history just prior to and following the Six Day War. Using observations on space and power by Foucault, Marin, Mitchell, and Aitkin and Zonn, among others, the paper introduces a socio-semiotic and visual analysis of the dialectic between imaginary and symbolic practices of Israeli territory.     

Structural complexity of motor patterns: A study on reaction times and movement times of handwritten letters

This study investigates the effects of psychomotor complexity on latencies for beginning to write single letters and numerals, and on times taken to complete the first strokes of letters and numerals. An experiment measured simple and choice reaction times for writing homogeneous graphemes (i.e., letters or numerals made up of similar strokes) and for writing heterogeneous graphemes (i.e., characters made up of dissimilar strokes). It was assumed that the motor programme for writing a letter is retrieved from long-term memory and briefly held, until it is used, in a short-term buffer store. The experiment examined the hypothesis that it is more difficult to read out homogeneous than heterogeneous stroke-structures from this store. For three out of four allographic grapheme pairs, homogeneous graphemes required longer initiation times or longer movement times for completion of the first stroke than did heterogeneous graphemes. These results are discussed in relation to recent findings on motor programming based on the use of reaction-time paradigms.