Child care and influence among the mekranoti of central brazil

Various researchers have argued that women's influence may be limited by child-care requirements. This study uses quantified data from the Mekranoti-Kayapó of Central Brazil to examine some specific arguments. Among the Mekranoti, women who spend more time caring for children rate lower on influence. But the reasons for this correlation are less clear. Child care does not seem to hinder a woman's ability to contribute to subsistence. Nor does it seem to have much effect on the personality characteristics that might affect the leadership potential of child caretakers. Child care may, however, restrict a woman's ability to acquire the personal connections needed to exercise influence.This article is based on a chapter from the author's doctoral dissertation. The author thanks Daniel R. Gross, Carol R. Ember, Madeline Ritter, Nancy Flowers, Daniel G. Bates, and Robert A. LeVine for their many helpful suggestions in preparing the study. The author also thanks various people for help in carrying out the fieldwork on which they study is based: S. Gross, G. Verswijver, R. Thomson, K. Jefferson, M. Stout, F. Leoi, and R. Cardoso de Oliveria, G. Diaz, K. Taylor, A. Ramos, G. Zarur, R. De Barros Laraia, L. Vidal, D. Montagner Melatti, J. C. Melatti, and J. Bispo dos Santos. The study was generously supported by NSF grants BNS 76-03378, BNS 73-25295, and BNS 78-24706.     

DEVELOPMENTAL COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIORAL ACHIEVEMENT OF CHILDREN FROM THREE SOCIOCULTURAL GROUPS*

The present study investigated, under three experimental conditions, the induction of communication messages of 219 7-and 9-year-old children of Anglocelt, Aboriginal, and mainland European heritage in Australia. Children's self-concept and their teachers' ratings of their classroom behavior were also examined. Hierarchical multivariate and univariate analyses of variance were applied to task-specific data sets. On the communication task, significant differences were obtained on Condition (C), Sociocultural Group (SG), Age (A), and SG × Sex. On the self-concept variables, significant differences were obtained on A only. Significant differences on A, SG, and Sex were obtained for the teachers' ratings of children's classroom behavior. Correlations between the communication tasks and behaviour ratings increased systematically as the complexity of the communication tasks increased to the asymptotic levels. The self-concept measures were uncorrelated to both the communication tasks and teachers' ratings. Results suggest the possibility of effective cognitive mediation and the consistency with which teachers value overt communication.     

Confrontation in the group analytic matrix: Toward a classification

This paper illustrates how confrontation is used in applying the Group Analytic model of Foulkes. Within the group, confrontation with images of the self and others provides a many-layered experience which transcends the classical psychoanalytic differentiation between confrontation, clarification and interpretation. A classification of seven types of confrontation is offered based on who confronts whom, and is linked with Foulkes's four levels of relationship within a group.Based on a paper read at the 9th Congress of the International Association of Group Psychotherapy, Zagreb, Yugoslavia, August 1986.     

The relative accessibility of phonemes and syllables

Previous research comparing detection times for syllables and for phonemes has consistently found that syllables are responded to faster than phonemes. This finding poses theoretical problems for strictly hierarchical models of speech recognition, in which smaller units should be able to be identified faster than larger units. However, inspection of the characteristics of previous experiments’ stimuli reveals that subjects have been able to respond to syllables on the basis of only a partial analysis of the stimulus. In the present experiment, five groups of subjects listened to identical stimulus material. Phoneme and syllable monitoring under standard conditions was compared with monitoring under conditions in which near matches of target and stimulus occurred on no-response trials. In the latter case, when subjects were forced to analyze each stimulus fully, phonemes were detected faster than syllables.     

To link or not to link? Empirical guidance for the design of nonlinear text systems

We compared the effectiveness of two versions of the NetBook data model for nonlinear text—one with links and one without. Users who accessed information through specifications based on properties and values alone performed better than users who employed such specifications as well as hypertext links. Protocol analysis revealed that hypertext links were useful when a subject’s specifications were unspecific but correct. However, hypertext could rarely compensate for inaccurate specifications. Design recommendations are included.     

IMPROVING RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT SERVICES: IMPLEMENTATION AND NORM-REFERENCED EVALUATION OF A COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Ensuring effective service delivery by direct-care personnel in institutional living units for persons with developmental disabilities historically has been a difficult process, despite considerable attention from researchers, service providers, and governmental regulatory agencies. In this investigation, we conducted a normative evaluation of the extent and quality of treatment services currently provided in residential living units (Experiment 1) and evaluated a comprehensive management system designed to improve such services (Experiment 2). Results of the first experiment, encompassing 22 living units in three states, indicated that on the average two thirds of observed resident behavior did not involve any therapeutic activity. The results also provided social validity for the criteria used to evaluate the quality of treatment provision based on opinions of mental retardation professionals. Results of the second experiment indicated that a behavioral management program implemented during 23 separate time periods across five living units was accompanied by consistent and durable decreases in resident nontherapeutic activity as well as increases in specifically designated habilitative activity. The results provide support for the successful incorporation of behavioral management technology into human service settings on a large-scale, long-term basis.     

GENERALIZATION OF STUDENT QUESTION ASKING FROM SPECIAL CLASS TO REGULAR CLASS SETTINGS

This study investigated the use of videotaped exemplars taken from a regular education mathematics class to teach generalization of question asking. Three mildly handicapped fourth-grade students who asked few questions in the regular education class served as subjects. Measures of the frequency of question asking and percentage of accuracy on assignments were obtained in the regular class. Treatment included showing the videotapes to the subjects, structuring opportunities for rehearsing question asking, and providing feedback. The results showed training procedures implemented in the learning resource room were effective in increasing the level of participants' question asking and in improving their scores on assignments in the regular mathematics class.     

Interactional patterns of bipolar patients and their spouses

This study examined the interactional patterns of eight bipolar patients (when manic and in remission) and their spouses by videotaping the couples' interactions and then quantifying those interactions using the Marital Interaction Coding system. These couples' interactions were compared to the interactions of eight happily and eight unhappily married nonbipolar psychiatric control patients and their spouses. The purposes were to determine (a) whether the interactional pattern between bipolar patients and their spouses changes or remains the same when the patient is in a manic vs. a nonmanic state and (b) how the interaction patterns of bipolar patients when manic and nonmanic compare to happily and unhappily married nonbipolar psychiatriccontrol patients. Significant differences in interactions were found between manic and nonmanic states, in addition to significant differences between these patients and the control groups. There were also expected differences between happily and unhappily married psychiatric control groups. Implications are discussed for marital therapy for manies that involves problemsolving and communication training.