WOMEN GOING BACK TO WORK: PRELIMINARY PROBLEMS1

Analysis of 422 applications submitted to an employment agency by married women suggests that some professional women who seek to reenter the labor force lack confidence, skill in presenting their credentials, and enough self-assurance to present themselves in their own names. In this sample of women, the individual whose self-image as an independent professional allowed her to defy Emily Post was more likely to get a job than was the individual who used her husband's name.     

An association between mothers’ speech clarity and infants’ speech discrimination skills

The quality of speech directed towards infants may play an important role in infants’ language development. However, few studies have examined the link between the two. We examined the correlation between maternal speech clarity and infant speech perception performance in two groups of Mandarin‐speaking mother–infant pairs. Maternal speech clarity was assessed using the degree of expansion of the vowel space, a measure previously shown to reflect the intelligibility of words and sentences. Speech discrimination in the infants (6–8 and 10–12‐month‐olds) was measured using a head‐turn task. The results show that mothers’ vowel space area is significantly correlated with infants’ speech discrimination performance. Socioeconomic data from both parents show that the result cannot be attributed to parental socioeconomic factors. This study is correlational and therefore a causal relationship cannot be firmly established. However, the results are consistent with the view that maternal speech clarity directly affects infants’ early language learning.     

The face of bimodal bilingualism: grammatical markers in American Sign Language are produced when bilinguals speak to English monolinguals

Bimodal bilinguals, fluent in a signed and a spoken language, provide unique insight into the nature of syntactic integration and language control. We investigated whether bimodal bilinguals who are conversing with English monolinguals produce American Sign Language (ASL) grammatical facial expressions to accompany parallel syntactic structures in spoken English. In ASL, raised eyebrows mark conditionals, and furrowed eyebrows mark wh-questions; the grammatical brow movement is synchronized with the manual onset of the clause. Bimodal bilinguals produced more ASL-appropriate facial expressions than did nonsigners and synchronized their expressions with the onset of the corresponding English clauses. This result provides evidence for a dual-language architecture in which grammatical information can be integrated up to the level of phonological implementation. Overall, participants produced more raised brows than furrowed brows, which can convey negative affect. Bimodal bilinguals suppressed but did not completely inhibit ASL facial grammar when it conflicted with conventional facial gestures. We conclude that morphosyntactic elements from two languages can be articulated simultaneously and that complete inhibition of the nonselected language is difficult.     

Pharmacotherapy for the Pseudobulbar Affect in Individuals Who Have Sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury: a Systematic Review

Neuropsychology Review - Pseudobulbar affect is a debilitating condition that significantly reduces quality of life for many individuals following traumatic brain injury (TBI). It is characterized...     

Using Racial Identity Theory to Explore Racial Mistrust and Interracial Contact Among Asian Americans

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of racial identity attitudes as predictors of racial mistrust (perceived interpersonal racism) of African Americans and other racial contact variables among Asian Americans. A packet consisting of the Visible Racial/Ethnic Group Members (VREG) Identity Attitudes Scale, Cultural Mistrust Inventory, Marlow‐Crowne Social Desirability Scale, Racial Contact Scale, and a demographic data sheet was administered to 160 participants. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that racial identity attitudes significantly predicted racial mistrust, overall group impression, 4 racial stereotypes, and 2 quality of racial contact variables in ways consistent with racial identity theory. Implications of the findings for Asian American psychology, counseling, and race relations research are discussed.     

Hidden Agendas and the Learning-Earning Controversy: A Reply to Robert J. Nash and Kenneth P. Saurman

Student personnel administrators have a vital role to play in the university as facilitators and counselors, but they should not attempt to be “comprehensivists” or “meaning makers.” The Nash-Saurman emphasis on such roles, and on “personal meaning” in higher education, misrepresents the activities of faculty members and the primary mission of the university and invites continued dilution of academic rigor. Such emphases also reflect a continuation of, rather than a break with, the marketplace mentality in higher education and constitute a politically self-serving position on the part of professional educators.