Relations between maternal network size and maternal behaviour with five-year-olds across levels of maternal background and child ability

The article examines the relations between mothers' reports of the size of their social support networks and observations of their behaviour with their 5-year-old children in a sample of 281 children entering kindergarten. Results indicate that maternal network size was correlated with mothers' competence in interaction with their children, even after controlling for variance in maternal education and child cognitive ability. Further analyses, when the sample was divided according to demographic or child risk, indicated that the relation between network size and maternal competence interaction was higher in the high-risk groups than in the low-risk groups. The results extend the literature on social support to large, normal samples of school-age children and are discussed in terms of ecological models of development.     

An error recognition test as a measure of linguistic competence: An example from Welsh

The use of sentence imitation tasks to measure the development of linguistic competence in children is discussed, and the drawbacks of such techniques noted, particularly in the case of adult subjects. A measurement based on results from an error recognition test is proposed. A set of variables from Welsh is described, together with an error recognition test designed around them. The results of the test seem to indicate that linguistic features that may superficially seem equally variable may have different statuses in the competence of speakers. This sort of test is felt to have a part to play in the measurement of linguistic competence.     

Developmental differences in a coincident timing task under speed and time constraints

The present study examines the effects of speed constraints (target velocity) and time constraints (target duration) on performance on a coincident timing task by 5-, 7- and 9-year-old children and adults. The results showed that the young children significantly improved their performance (per cent of hits) and response accuracy CE, |CE| when given longer time to perform the task. The adults were just as successful for both durations. All subjects showed better performance (per cent of hits) with slower targets, however, for the children this effect was only noticeable with targets of long duration. Target duration also revealed development changes in response control and execution, with the younger children producing different response patterns for IRT, MT and IP measures. The developmental differences at this task are discussed in terms of the control mechanisms involved and the use of strategies in responding.     

Nanoscale Science and Technology and People with Disabilities in Asia: An Ability Expectation Analysis

Science and technology, including nanoscale science and technology, influences and is influenced by various discourses and areas of action. Ableism is one concept and ability expectation is one dynamic that impacts the direction, vision, and application of nanoscale science and technology and vice versa. At the same time, policy documents that involve or relate to disabled people exhibit ability expectations of disabled people. The authors present ability expectations exhibited within two science and technology direction documents from Asia, as well as in two policy documents generated and influenced by disabled people from Asia. As well, the authors discuss the impact of the ability expectations exhibited in these four documents with respect to the relationship between science and technology and disabled people.     

The scene and the unseen: Manipulating photographs for experiments on change blindness and scene memory

The change blindness paradigm, in which participants often fail to notice substantial changes in a scene, is a popular tool for studying scene perception, visual memory, and the link between awareness and attention. Some of the most striking and popular examples of change blindness have been demonstrated with digital photographs of natural scenes; in most studies, however, much simpler displays, such as abstract stimuli or “free-floating” objects, are typically used. Although simple displays have undeniable advantages, natural scenes remain a very useful and attractive stimulus for change blindness research. To assist researchers interested in using natural-scene stimuli in change blindness experiments, we provide here a step-by-step tutorial on how to produce changes in natural-scene images with a freely available image-processing tool (GIMP). We explain how changes in a scene can be made by deleting objects or relocating them within the scene or by changing the color of an object, in just a few simple steps. We also explain how the physical properties of such changes can be analyzed using GIMP and MATLAB (a high-level scientific programming tool). Finally, we present an experiment confirming that scenes manipulated according to our guidelines are effective in inducing change blindness and demonstrating the relationship between change blindness and the physical properties of the change and inter-individual differences in performance measures. We expect that this tutorial will be useful for researchers interested in studying the mechanisms of change blindness, attention, or visual memory using natural scenes.     

The role of the oculomotor system in covert social attention

Observing a change in gaze direction triggers a reflexive shift of attention and appears to engage the eye-movement system. However, the functional relationship between social attention and this oculomotor activation is unclear. One extremely influential hypothesis is that the preparation of a saccadic eye movement is necessary and sufficient for a covert, reflexive shift of attention (the premotor theory of attention; Rizzolatti et al., 1994). Surprisingly, this theory has not been directly tested with respect to reflexive gaze cueing. In order to address this issue, gaze cueing, peripheral cueing, and arrow cueing were examined under conditions in which some stimuli appeared at locations that could not become the goal of a saccadic eye movement. It was observed that peripheral cues failed to elicit reflexive attentional orienting when targets appeared beyond the range of eye movements. Similarly, nonpredictive arrow cues were ineffective when targets could not become the goal of a saccade. In contrast, significant gaze-cueing effects were still observed when targets were beyond the range of eye movements. These data demonstrate that the mechanisms involved in gaze cueing are dissociated from those involved in exogenous orienting to peripheral or arrow cues. Furthermore, the findings suggest that, unlike peripheral cueing and reflexive arrow cueing, gaze cueing is independent of oculomotor control. We conclude that the premotor theory does not offer a compelling explanation for gaze cueing.     

Crime problems of the future

Group process methods for problem solving and planning are now widely used in organizations in the United States. Such methods, which involve active participation by employees, are not often used in Russia. We believe these methods would help Russia move from a centrally planned, authoritarian style of management to a more participatory, information-sharing style of management. Accordingly, two training sessions were held with faculty members at universities in Irkutsk and Novosibirsk. This article describes how these meetings were arranged, the results of the planning activities, and the implications of participatory methods of decision making for organizations in Russia and in other transitional economies.     

Toward a synthesis of criminal justice planning and evaluation

The traditional social engineering approach to planning is essentially an allocative planning based on the distribution of limited means among a number of established users. We need instead a transactive planning strategy based on substantive rationality. Such a strategy involves innovative planning which avoids narrow objectivism through a perspec‐tivistic approach. Evaluation is regarded as strategy for system learning. Both planning and evaluation are to be seen within a general systems framework. In this framework, evaluation is applied not only at the outcome stage but also at the stage of problem definition, in the various phases of policy development, and during policy implementation.     

The satanic novel: A philosophical dialogue on blasphemy and censorship

This dialogue is concerned with the problems raised by the Rushdie affair for Western intellectuals, whose thought on social issues derives either from the Christian or the Western liberal tradition. This has brought to a head the many difficulties which beset a Western European country as it develops into a multicultural one. Since the concern of the dialogue is with a crisis in the thinking of Western intellectuals about free speech, censorship, tolerance, etc., the four participants are university teachers of philosophy in a British university. They are: Ambrose Taylor, a self‐styled defender of ‘British’ and ‘Christian’ values, Archie Runciman, a progressive Christian or religious eclectic, Freddie Stuart Hill, a committed Mill type liberal and Jenny Spring, whose liberalism is tempered by the belief that the state should take a positive role in promoting certain values. The author should not be identified with any of the speakers.     

Predictors of posttraumatic stress in children following injury: The influence of appraisals, heart rate, and morphine use

Prospective studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children that investigate simultaneously both cognitive and biological or psychophysiological predictors are rare. The present research reports on the impact of cognitive factors (trauma-related appraisals) and biological indicators (heart rate, morphine use) in predicting PTSD and depression symptoms following single-incident trauma. Children and adolescents (N = 48) were assessed within 4 weeks of an injury that led to hospital treatment and followed up 6-months later. While morphine did not predict initial PTSD severity, it was associated with lower levels of PTSD at follow-up. Reductions in PTSD symptoms (change scores) between assessments were similarly associated with morphine dosage. Trauma-related appraisals also contributed to PTSD and depression symptom severity. While slightly different patterns of results were obtained depending on whether static or change scores were examined, as a whole the study adds to a growing literature that morphine has the potential to reduce PTSD symptoms severity. Likewise the relationship between unhelpful trauma appraisals and posttrauma psychopathology was replicated.