Update: Singles in Late‐Modern Conservative Religions

This article reviews the state of the research on religious singles, claiming that it is an understudied field. In late modernity, the age of marriage has risen. The importance of family for religious observance and the “family values” ideology adopted by conservative religions pose obstacles for singles who wish to remain observant, and can lead to their marginalization. I review the literature on singles and identify common patterns informed by my own research on religious Zionist singles. I argue that discourse and values regarding marriage and singlehood across various conservative religious communities have much in common, and that religious singles often find themselves torn between their religious values and those of secular mainstream young adult society.     

Terror mismanagement: evidence that mortality salience exacerbates phobic and compulsive behaviors

Terror management theory (TMT) posits that cultural worldviews and self-esteem function to buffer humans from mortality-related anxiety. TMT research has shown that important behaviors are influenced by mortality salience (MS) even when they have no obvious connection to death. However, there has been no attempt to investigate TMT processes in anxious responding. The present research examines that question. In Study 1, compared to a control condition, MS increased anxious responding to spider-related stimuli, but only for participants who met criteria for specific phobia. In Study 2, compared to an aversive control condition, MS increased time spent washing hands, but only for those scoring high on a measure of compulsive hand washing (CHW). In Study 3, compared to a different aversive control condition, MS increased avoidance of a social interaction, but only for those scoring high on a measure of social interaction anxiety. The relevance of TMT in anxious responding is discussed.     

Programmers, Professors, and Parasites: Credit and Co-Authorship in Computer Science

This article presents an in-depth analysis of past and present publishing practices in academic computer science to suggest the establishment of a more consistent publishing standard. Historical precedent for academic publishing in computer science is established through the study of anecdotes as well as statistics collected from databases of published computer science papers. After examining these facts alongside information about analogous publishing situations and standards in other scientific fields, the article concludes with a list of basic principles that should be adopted in any computer science publishing standard. These principles would contribute to the reliability and scientific nature of academic publications in computer science and would allow for more straightforward discourse in future publications.     

A six-district study of educational change: direct and mediated effects of the child development project

A comprehensive elementary school program, the Child Development Project, was conducted in two schools in each of six school districts over a three-year period. Two additional schools in each district served as a comparison group. The program attempts to create a 'caring community of learners' in school and classroom through classroom, schoolwide, and parent involvement components. The classroom component includes student collaboration, a literature-based approach to reading, and a student-centered approach to classroom management. Classroom observation, student questionnaire, teacher questionnaire, and test data were collected in a baseline year and in each of the three years of program implementation. Results showed positive student results in the five program schools that made significant progress in implementation. Schools that progressed in implementation showed gains – relative to their comparison schools – in students' personal, social, and ethical attitudes, values, and motives. Significant effects on academic achievement were found only in two schools with a performance-based assessment and a highly consistent local reform mandate. Modeling analyses indicated that student sense of community was an important mediating variable for almost all dependent variables – indicating that the program produced positive effects to the degree that it was successful in establishing a caring community in the school.