Homeschool and Underage Drinking: Is It More Protective than Public and Private Schools?

This article examines differences in alcohol use between homeschool and both public and private school students. Applying regression analyses to two waves of the National Study of Youth and Religion, we found that homeschoolers were less likely to drink alcohol and get drunk than non-homeschoolers, which was explained in part by variables of social bonding, social learning, and, to a greater extent, religiosity. Specifically, parental monitoring helped explain differences between homeschool and private school students, while association with deviant friends partially accounted for differences with public school students. Religiosity, however, explained differences between homeschoolers and both types of non-homeschoolers.     

Increasing toughness by promoting discontinuous precipitation in Cu–Ni–Si alloys

The influence of precipitation morphology, including continuous precipitation (CP) and discontinuous precipitation (DP), on the mechanical behaviour of Cu–Ni–Si alloys was studied. The Cu–6Ni–1.5Si (in wt%) alloy was solution heat treated at 980 °C for 2 h and aged at 500 °C for 0.5 and 3 h to produce CP and DP structures. The DP specimen showed an abnormal increase in tensile ductility with increasing strain rate, unlike the CP counterpart. The impact toughness of the DP specimen was 1.6 times greater than that of CP specimen. The fracture mode in DP specimen was mostly dimpled rupture, while the mixed mode of cleavage fracture and dimpled rupture was noted on the CP specimen.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Xiang Yuan</Emphasis> (Village Worthies): The Appearance-only Hypocrite

This article seeks to interpret Mencius’ criticism of the village worthies (xiang yuan 鄉原) and shed light on the distinctive psychological phenomenon that Mencius has captured but not quite articulated. An attempt at filling out the Mencian view of the village worthies will help us better understand the content of the moral charges made against them and also deepen our analysis of the kind of psychology that early Confucians regard as crucial to moral agency. Following an introduction that overviews Mencius’ criticisms of the village worthies, the main discussion of this article is divided into three sections. Section 2 offers an interpretation of the psychology of the village worthy and articulates the way in which the village worthy can be regarded as a special kind of hypocrite, which I label as “appearance-only” hypocrite. Section 3 draws on the proposed interpretation to make sense of Mencius’ criticisms of the village worthy. I argue that while the village worthy can elude some common charges against hypocrisy, it is still problematic in the sense that it weakens an unstable system of morality from the inside and inflicts harm on the genuinely virtuous person. Section 4 delves deeper into analyzing the ethical implications for the self and for others.     

Religion,Human Rights,and Neo‐liberalism in a Post‐Humanist Era

In a modern and secularized world, churches and religious groups that fight in the public sphere for social justice justify these actions in the name of defending human rights. This has been the path taken to express in non‐religious language what they understand to be a God‐given mission. Based on the distinction between civil rights, political rights, and social rights, which make up the set of human rights, this article analyzes the relationship between the notion of religious mission and the struggle for human rights; how neoliberal ideology, in an anti‐humanist perspective, criticizes the notion of social rights and social justice with the denial of any human right above the laws of the market; and the challenges that this neoliberal ideology poses for the justification of the social and political action of religious groups and institutions in the contemporary globalized world with a growing post/anti‐humanist culture.     

Flattery will get you somewhere,sometimes? The effect of flattery and hotel segments on a hotel guests' green behavior

Considering the importance of the hotel guests' behavioral support for the hotels' green corporate social responsibility (CSR), this research examined the persuasive power of flattery in promoting guests' green behaviors. Study 1 revealed that a flattery message significantly increased the hotel guests' towel reuse intentions during their stay and this effect was mediated by their perceptions of the hotel's CSR motives. Study 2 further showed that a feeling of guilt served as another key mediator in the relationship between a flattery message and the guests' responses (i.e., perceived CSR motives, hotel image, attitudes toward a hotel, towel reuse intentions), which was moderated by hotel segment (economy vs. mid-priced vs. luxury). This research provides meaningful insights into the understanding of the consumers' pro-environmental decisions in the service consumption context and explains the underlying cognitive process. Moreover, this research offers an empirical message strategy by hotel segments to effectively promote the hotel guests' green behavior and achieve successful marketing outcomes.     

Respect for Elders: Myths and Realities in East Asia

The trend in East Asia from authoritarian and patriarchal relationships to egalitarian and reciprocal patterns of mutual respect between generations is eroding the willingness of younger generations to respect the elderly in traditional ways. Have the Confucian teachings on respect for elders become myths? This article reviews traditional ways of treating parents and elders prescribed in Confucian literature and examines how they are expressed in modern times.     

Evolution, stress, and sensitive periods: the influence of unpredictability in early versus late childhood on sex and risky behavior

According to a recent evolutionary life history model of development proposed by Ellis, Figueredo, Brumbach, and Schlomer (2009), growing up in harsh versus unpredictable environments should have unique effects on life history strategies in adulthood. Using data from the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation, we tested how harshness and unpredictability experienced in early childhood (age 0-5) versus in later childhood (age 6-16) uniquely predicted sexual and risky behavior at age 23. Findings showed that the strongest predictor of both sexual and risky behavior was an unpredictable environment between ages 0 and 5. Individuals exposed to more unpredictable, rapidly changing environments during the first 5 years of life displayed a faster life history strategy at age 23 by having more sexual partners, engaging in more aggressive and delinquent behaviors, and being more likely to be associated with criminal activities. In contrast, exposure to either harsh environments or experiencing unpredictability in later childhood (age 6-16) was, for the most part, not significantly related to these outcomes at age 23. Viewed together, these findings show that unpredictable rather than merely harsh childhood environments exert unique effects on risky behavior later in life consistent with a faster life history strategy. The findings also suggest that there is a developmentally sensitive period for assessing environmental unpredictability during the first 5 years of life.     

A review of research on bullying and peer victimization in school: An ecological system analysis

Bullying and peer victimization in school are serious concerns for students, parents, teachers, and school officials in the U.S. and around the world. This article reviews risk factors associated with bullying and peer victimization in school within the context of Bronfenbrenner's ecological framework. This review integrates empirical findings on the risk factors associated with bullying and peer victimization within the context of micro- (parent–youth relationships, inter-parental violence, relations with peers, school connectedness, and school environment), meso- (teacher involvement), exo- (exposure to media violence, neighborhood environment), macro- (cultural norms and beliefs, religious affiliation), and chronosystem (changes in family structure) levels. Theories that explain the relationships between the risk factors and bullying behavior are also included. We then discuss the efficacy of the current bullying prevention and intervention programs, which is followed by directions for future research.     

Expressed Emotion,Appraisal and Coping by Patients with Recent-onset Schizophrenia: A Pilot Investigation

This pilot study sought to follow up on indications that patients from households with high levels of expressed emotion (EE) differ from those from households with low levels of EE in ways not assessed in typical symptom rating profiles. We examined how patients appraised and coped with a prominent societal stressor. Soon after the start of the Gulf War, 22 patients with recent-onset schizophrenia living in Los Angeles appraised the stressor and completed a coping questionnaire. Results indicated that patients from high-EE homes were likely to use emotion-based confrontational methods to cope with the crisis, while patients from low-EE environments were likely to use avoidance and denial. Patients from high-EE homes thus coped with this non-familial, societal stressor in a way similar to the way in which they have been observed to cope with family conflict: they more readily expressed their anger and frustration than patients from low-EE homes. These pilot data suggest that increased attention should be directed toward those patient behaviours that may be associated with either an increase or decrease in negative affective behaviour from relatives. It may also be fruitful to consider more broadly the adaptive and maladaptive features of the preferred coping strategies of patients from high-EE and low-EE environments.