Minority Youth, Crime, Conflict, and Belonging in Australia

In recent decades, the size and diversity of the minority population of contemporary western societies has increased significantly. To the critics of immigration, minority youth have been increasingly linked to crime, criminal gangs, anti-social behaviour, and riots. In this article, we draw on fieldwork conducted in Sydney, Australia’s largest and most ethnically diverse city, to probe aspects of the criminality, anti-social behaviour, national identity, and belonging of ethnic minority youth in Australia. We conclude that the evidence on minority youth criminality is weak and that the panic about immigrant youth crime and immigrant youth gangs is disproportionate to the reality, drawing on and in turn creating racist stereotypes, particularly with youth of ‘Middle Eastern appearance’. A review of the events leading up to the Sydney Cronulla Beach riots of December 2005 suggests that the underlying cause of the riots were many years of international, national, and local anti-Arab, anti-Muslim media discourse, and political opportunism, embedded in changing but persistent racist attitudes and practises. Our argument is that such inter-ethnic conflict between minority and majority youth in Sydney is the exception, not the rule. Finally, we draw on a hitherto unpublished survey of youth in Sydney to explore issues of national identity and belonging among young people of diverse ethnic and religious background. We conclude that minority youth in Sydney do not live ‘parallel lives’ but contradictory, inter-connected cosmopolitan lives. They are connected to family and local place, have inter-ethnic friendships but are often disconnected to the nation and the flag.     

The development and validation of the pictorial motivation scale in physical activity

The purpose of the present research was to report the validation of the pictorial motivation scale in English. This scale is designed for adolescents and adults with an intellectual disability who are unable to independently read a questionnaire. The scale has a picture and phrase depicting 16 items related to participation in sport and physical activity; four for each of the following subscales, intrinsic motivation, self-determined extrinsic motivation, non self-determined extrinsic motivation, and amotivation. Phase 1 of the research describes the formal translation of the scale from French to English. Results from three studies conducted with Special Olympians (Phase 2) and adolescents in a special school (Phases 3 and 4) provided support for the internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and factorial and construct validity of the scale. Overall, the scale would appear to be sufficiently reliable and valid to warrant its continued use and further development.

A Critical Test of Self‐Enhancement,Exposure, and Self‐Categorization Explanations for First‐ and Third‐Person Perceptions

The third‐person perception is the tendency for people to believe that others are more influenced by media content than themselves (W. P. Davison, 1983 ). The current study provides a critical test of self‐enhancement, exposure, and self‐categorization explanations for first‐ (i.e., self more influenced than others) and third‐person perceptions. Male and female participants (N = 323) judged the extent to which pornography elicited“aroused and excited” (i.e., male normative) versus“repulsed and offended” (i.e., female normative) reactions in themselves relative to average men and women. Men perceived an average woman to be more repulsed and offended by pornography than themselves, and women perceived an average man to be more aroused and excited than themselves (i.e., large third‐person perceptions). Further, men perceived themselves to be more aroused and excited by pornography than an average woman (independent of the degree to which pornography was judged as antisocial), and women perceived themselves to be more repulsed and offended than an average man (i.e., large first‐person perceptions). There were relatively small effects for same sex comparisons independent of norm. The pattern and magnitude of first‐ and third‐person perceptions are consistent with self‐categorization theory, irreconcilable with the exposure hypothesis, and difficult to reconcile with the self‐enhancement explanation.     

The envious will to power

Envy, from Klein's perspective, is an inherent hatred of goodness that seeks to destroy love, creativity, and life itself. Devoid of constructive value, envy becomes an evil to be restrained or renounced, rather than a potential to be understood or developed. Confusion with evil can be avoided if envy is seen as a defence against the impact of 'otherness' and the greatness of 'others' rather than an inherent hatred of goodness. From this perspective envy emerges as a desperate attempt to preserve one's unique sense of self against the terror of non-being.     

Feminism versus minority group identity: Not for black woman only

An analytical review of the literature revealed four basic hypotheses that have been adopted by researchers investigating Black women and their relationships. The hypotheses have been identified by the author as follows: The weakening hypothesis, the double whammy hypothesis, the Black matriarchy hypothesis, and the Black racism hypothesis. In addition, a discussion of the implication that the hypotheses have for Black and White researchers was given. Finally, suggestions for new approaches and directions that future research should take were included.     

Effects of methylphenidate (Ritalin) on information processing in hyperactive children

The effect of methylphenidate on information-processing efficiency was studied in 12 hyperactive, nonretarded children. Performance on six efficiency tasks (Posner Letter Matching, Reaction Time, Memory Search, Category Verification, Item Identification, and Word-Span) and a general measure of on-task behavior were compared for children receiving methylphenidate or a placebo. The median drug dosage was .38 mg/kg, and it was ingested 1 1/2 hours prior to testing. Children blind to the drug-placebo condition were tested on 4 days. In general, methylphenidate-related improvements in attention to on-task behaviors were found. An overall analysis of processing speed suggested that methylphenidate improved efficiency. Methylphenidate significantly decreased reaction times to simple and complex stimulus arrays; differences due to the drug remained even when on-task attentive behaviors were statistically removed. Significantly fewer identification errors occurred on the Posner task in the methylphenidate condition. Results indicated that methylphenidate improved general attentional behaviors and positively influenced processes that define perceptual efficiency.The first author was supported by NIH Training Grant No. HD 07184. We appreciate the assistance of Dr. Robert Sweeney in carrying out this research and the useful comments of Ellen B. Ryan and Jeanne D. Day.     

LEISURE-DANCE INSTRUCTION FOR SEVERELY AND PROFOUNDLY RETARDED PERSONS: TEACHING AN INTERMEDIATE COMMUNITY-LIVING SKILL

We evaluated an approach for teaching an intermediate community living skill via a leisure-dance activity to institutionalized severely and profoundly retarded persons. The targeted skill was considered as intermediate in contrast to a community living skill per se because it was based on successful performances of higher functioning, noninstitutionalized retarded persons as opposed to nonhandicapped individuals. Definitions for appropriate dancing were established and then validated through observations of the performance of retarded persons living in the local community. The dance skills were then taught to four participants through serial training in leg movements, arm movements, and coordinated leg and arm movements, plus follow-up trainer supervision. Generalization was also programmed by way of multiple trainers and training settings. Results during structured assessments showed that all four residents acquired the dance skills and that both serial training and follow-up supervision were necessary for skill acquisition. Generalized increases in appropriate dancing at dances attended by the participants and retarded persons from the community were also demonstrated. However, in most cases some active supervision by caregivers was needed to enhance the generalized improvements. Results are discussed in terms of the applicability of this approach for validating goals when training other community-related skills to low-functioning populations.     

Social interactional processes within the family: The study of the moment-by-moment family transactions in which human social development is imbedded

A strategy for the study of social interaction in the family is reviewed that places particular emphasis on those variables that have proven useful or hold promise for the identification and understanding of factors that affect human social development. First, the heavy reliance on observational data and other main features of the approach are described. Second, an attempt is made to summarize some of the more significant findings from this type of research that have added significantly to our understanding of social development within the family. Third, the major research methods used in this approach are described, as well as the research that needs to be done in order to improve the methodology. Finally, a number of major gaps in our substantive knowledge about social interaction within the family are indicated.