Blending Theory with Practice: Implementing Kindergarten Transition Using the Interactive Systems Framework

The Interactive Systems Framework (ISF; Wandersman et al. in Am J Commu Psychol 41(3–4):171–181, 2008) was used to implement a kindergarten transition demonstration project collaboratively developed by elementary and early education providers, community‐based family and housing services, parents, and a University intermediary and technical assistance group. First person accounts from stakeholders at all levels provide a complementary and broad perspective on the project's implementation. The practice model blended existing research on kindergarten transition and parent involvement with feedback from stakeholders to create a community‐specific program designed to help all children make a smooth entry into kindergarten. During implementation, evidence‐based approaches needed to be adjusted to fit the specific needs of each community. Using the ISF as a guide, next steps and lessons learned include increasing leadership through a district‐wide plan that is still flexible within each school community, increasing information and supports to individual schools, and improving data collection for continuous program improvement. Special Issue: Advances in Bridging Research and Practice Using the Interactive System Framework for Dissemination and Implementation; Guest Editors: Abraham Wandersman, Paul Flaspohler, Catherine A. Lesesne, Richard Puddy; Action Editor: Emilie Phillips Smith     

Emotional valence and physical space: limits of interaction

According to the body-specificity hypothesis, people associate positive things with the side of space that corresponds to their dominant hand and negative things with the side corresponding to their nondominant hand. Our aim was to find out whether this association holds also true for a response time study using linguistic stimuli, and whether such an association is activated automatically. Four experiments explored this association using positive and negative words. In Exp. 1, right-handers made a lexical judgment by pressing a left or right key. Attention was not explicitly drawn to the valence of the stimuli. No valence-by-side interaction emerged. In Exp. 2 and 3, right-handers and left-handers made a valence judgment by pressing a left or a right key. A valence-by-side interaction emerged: For positive words, responses were faster when participants responded with their dominant hand, whereas for negative words, responses were faster for the nondominant hand. Exp. 4 required a valence judgment without stating an explicit mapping of valence and side. No valence-by-side interaction emerged. The experiments provide evidence for an association between response side and valence, which, however, does not seem to be activated automatically but rather requires a task with an explicit response mapping to occur.     

Can clouds dance? Neural correlates of passive conceptual expansion using a metaphor processing task: Implications for creative cognition

Creativity has emerged in the focus of neurocognitive research in the past decade. However, a heterogeneous pattern of brain areas has been implicated as underpinning the neural correlates of creativity. One explanation for these divergent findings lies in the fact that creativity is not usually investigated in terms of its many underlying cognitive processes. The present fMRI study focuses on the neural correlates of conceptual expansion, a central component of all creative processes. The study aims to avoid pitfalls of previous fMRI studies on creativity by employing a novel paradigm. Participants were presented with phrases and made judgments regarding both the unusualness and the appropriateness of the stimuli, corresponding to the two defining criteria of creativity. According to their respective evaluation, three subject-determined experimental conditions were obtained. Phrases judged as both unusual and appropriate were classified as indicating conceptual expansion in participants. The findings reveal the involvement of frontal and temporal regions when engaging in passive conceptual expansion as opposed to the information processing of mere unusualness (novelty) or appropriateness (relevance). Taking this new experimental approach to uncover specific processes involved in creative cognition revealed that frontal and temporal regions known to be involved in semantic cognition and relational reasoning play a role in passive conceptual expansion. Adopting a different vantage point on the investigation of creativity would allow for critical advances in future research on this topic.     

Can clouds dance? Part 2: An ERP investigation of passive conceptual expansion

Conceptual expansion, one of the core operations in creative cognition, was investigated in the present ERP study. An experimental paradigm using novel metaphoric, nonsensical and literal phrases was employed where individual differences in conceptual knowledge organization were accounted for by using participants’ responses to categorize the stimuli to each condition. The categorization was determined by their judgment of the stimuli on the two defining criteria of creativity: unusualness and appropriateness. Phrases judged as unusual and appropriate were of special interest as they are novel and unfamiliar phrases thought to passively induce conceptual expansion. The results showed a graded N400 modulation for phrases judged to be unusual and inappropriate (nonsense) or unusual and appropriate (conceptual expansion, novel metaphorical) relative to usual and appropriate (literal) phrases. The N400 is interpreted as indexing greater effort to retrieve semantic information and integrate the novel concepts presented through the phrases. Analyses of the later time-window showed an ongoing negativity that was graded in the same manner as the N400. The findings attest to the usefulness of investigating creative cognition using event-related electrophysiology.     

Suicide by cop in film and society: dangerousness, depression, and justice

Provoking police officers to kill oneself or "suicide by cop" (SBC) has received scholarly as well as public attention. The extent to which film representations of SBC reflect SBC in society in relation to danger, depression, and other features was assessed in this study. Data on cinematic portrayals of SBC are from 16 American films; corresponding data on SBC in the real world are taken from 19 empirical studies. While the demographic features of SBC in the real world are largely reflected in film, major differences exist on motivations and incident characteristics. Motives for cinematic SBC were unlike SBC in society, wherein, respectively, 0% vs. 35% had attempted suicide in the past, 6% vs. 47% were chronically depressed, and 77% vs. 7% had recently killed someone. Cinematic SBC events disproportionately involve murderous, dangerous persons who are not depressed, and their deaths convey a sense of justice. While such media distortions can be profitable and entertain the audience, they also contribute to public misunderstandings of the nature of deviance and hinder the development of effective suicide and violence prevention programs.     

Glucocorticoid response to changes in enclosure size and human proximity in the Persian onager (Equus hemionus onager)

This study investigated glucocorticoid (GC) responses to season and changes in enclosure size and human proximity in the Persian onager (Equus hemionus onager). Enzyme immunoassays were validated to measure GC metabolites in urine and feces (fGCM). Fecal samples were collected from 10 female onagers while in a large pasture, after transport to smaller yards (in greater proximity to people), and 2 months thereafter. Urine samples were collected for 1 year while females were in smaller yards to examine seasonal GC activity. Approximately, 2-fold increases (P < 0.05) were observed in fGCM levels after transport from pasture to yards with increased human exposure, followed by a rapid decline (within -17 days) to baseline (pasture) values. However, responses varied among onagers during the 30 days after translocation, with one female failing to acclimate. Mean fGCM concentrations in smaller yards 2 months after transport were comparable to those in pasture. Seasonal GC concentrations were lowest (P < 0.05) during winter, indicating modest seasonal variability. Results demonstrate an acute increase in GC secretion in Persian onagers that moved from large to small enclosures coincident with increased human activities. Most animals acclimated within 3 weeks, suggesting that this rare equid has retained mechanisms to acclimate to marked alterations in an ex situ environment.     

Does self-efficacy mediate transfer effects in the learning of easy and difficult motor skills?

The effect of task difficulty on inter-task transfer is a classic issue in motor learning. We examined the relation between self-efficacy and transfer of learning after practicing different versions of a stick balancing task. Practicing the same task or an easier version led to significant pre- to post-test transfer of learning, whereas practicing a more difficult version did not. Self-efficacy increased modestly from pre- to post-test with easy practice, but decreased significantly with difficult practice. In addition, self-efficacy immediately prior to the post-test was significantly lower after difficult practice than easy or intermediate practice. Self-efficacy immediately prior to the post-test, performance at the end of practice, and pre-test performance explained 75% of the variance in post-test performance. The mediating role of self-efficacy on transfer of learning offers an alternative explanation for recent findings on the superiority of easy-to-difficult transfer and may help clarify inconsistencies in earlier research.     

Cultural Influences on Perceptions of Health, Illness, and Disability: A Review and Focus on Autism

This conceptual paper considers the role of culture in shaping family, professional, and community understanding of developmental disabilities and their treatments. The meanings of health, illness, and disability vary greatly across cultures and across time. We use Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model to provide a theoretical framework for examining disability, with special attention to autism spectrum disorders. Cultural beliefs about the cause of a disorder influence families’ decision-making about what treatments to use and what outcomes to expect. Autism provides an example that is especially challenging, as there is no agreed-upon cause. Also, an overwhelming array of treatments is available in the West for autism, including behavioral, cognitive, pharmaceutical, sensory, relational, vitamin, and diet therapies. Other cultures contribute additional views on cause (e.g., Karma, Allah’s will) and treatments (e.g., acupuncture, herbal medicines, Ayurveda). We suggest how a broad cultural view can help us understand treatments and the treatment delivery system of a nation and a culture. For the best course of care, professionals need to understand and respect families’ views of autism and work toward mutually agreeable treatments that may involve a combination of biomedical and cultural practices. Although a family-focused, open teamwork model that aims to acknowledge the context of the child, take into consideration the strengths and limitations of the child and the family, and introduce appropriate, sustainable, and sensitive interventions is regarded as best practice in the United States, it will take sensitive work to find out whether it will suit other cultural groups across the world.     

Respiratory Patterns in Students Enrolled in Schools for Disruptive Behaviour Before, During, and After Yoga Nidra Relaxation

This study investigated the effects of one session of Yoga Nidra (relaxation technique) on the breathing patterns/respiratory effort in the thoracic and abdominal chest regions of boys with disruptive behaviour using a Respiratory Inductive Plethysmography (RIP). The participants (n?=?7) were aged 10–15?years and attending NSW, Department of Education (DET) special schools for children with disruptive behaviour (DB). Results were compared with three students (one female) aged 15?years without DB. The seven boys had previously participated in a 13-week yoga program. During this program participants were progressively taught the practice of Yoga Nidra. The comparison group did not participate in the yoga program but underwent the same procedure for collection of data as the yoga group. Using Compumedics “ProFusion Polysomnography (PSG)” software and further analyses in “Polyman” European Data Format?+?(EDF), data were analysed by identifying breathing as unstable or stable. Unstable breathing was identified as fluctuations in rate/s of breathing effort, amplitude, cessation of breath, and thoracic or abdominal predominance. Results indicated that boys with disruptive behaviour generally displayed unstable breathing patterns throughout the pre-recording period and showed more stable breathing during Yoga Nidra compared with pre- or post-recording periods. There were also examples of reductions in thoracic dominance during Yoga Nidra. The comparison group’s breathing patterns throughout the three phases of the process were found to be stable.