Transforming curves into curves with the same shape

Curves are considered to have the same shape when they are related by a similarity transformation of a certain kind. This paper extends earlier work on parallel curves to curves with the same shape. Some examples are given more or less explicitly. A generalization is used to show that the theory is ordinal and to show how the theory may be applied to measure sensation. The problem of actually transforming curves into curves with the same shape is reduced to the problem of rendering another set of curves parallel. Connections with groups and rings are developed to place the work in a familiar context. These connections and the earlier work on parallel curves are used to obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of transformations, to study the uniqueness of transformations and to show how transformations can be calculated.     

Measuring Religion in War: A Response

We respond to Isak Svensson's reaction to our article titled “Shrouded: Islam, War, and Holy War in Southeast Asia,” which was published in Volume 53 of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.     

Inheriting the Shadow: Unlived Lives,Unshed Tears

The determination and courage of those whose lives were destroyed by terror, whether the Holocaust or extermination, to move forward in a new life modeled for us, the children, an unspoken mandate to live in the present and to bury the shadows of the past. It has left many of us to face the challenge of finding our center, the anchoring of our being in our lives: personally, professionally, collectively, and culturally. The next generation is not able to mourn lives lost, and being in the present without a past, without links to ethnic cultures or heritage, isolates individuals and affects the collective—indeed, there is no collective except in the communal silences. This article explores the impact of dismembered personal and collective bonds and the need to re-member, resulting in relationships that can move into the future, into the center.     

No “Slippery Slope”? An Empirical Case Study on the Effect of Secular Science Textbooks on Student Religiosity in a Christian Private School

In context of legal battles over science textbooks in both public and private schools, this empirical case study examines student religiosity scores over a 3-year period following a school-wide curricular change from Christian-published to secular science textbooks in a K-12 Christian private school. The study found no statistically significant change in student religiosity scores for two subscales (organizational and non-organizational religiosity; p = .799, p = .232, respectively); however, for the third subscale, intrinsic religiosity, a statistically significant increase in student religiosity was reported (p ≤ .001). The study suggests that the curricular change had no discernible negative affect on student religiosity scores. Moreover, the study suggests that Christian private schools may utilize secular science textbooks and remain faithful to their religious missions, especially when coupled with teacher training in faith-learning integration.     

Psychometric Evaluation of the Rage Outbursts and Anger Rating Scale in an Outpatient Psychiatric Sample

The primary objective of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of a measure of anger/rage attacks—the Rage Outburst and Anger Rating Scale (ROARS)—in a sample of youth (n = 81, ages 7–17 years, 72.8 % male) receiving treatment at an outpatient pediatric psychiatric clinic. A trained rater completed the ROARS and Clinical Global Impression-Rage (CGI-Rage). Children completed the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale for Children and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Parents completed the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale for Parents. Internal consistency (α = .89), inter-rater reliability (κ = .94) and 1-week test–retest reliability (r = .72) were calculated for the ROARS. The ROARS was correlated with CGI-Rage (r = .68, ρ < .001), although not with parent- and child-rated anxiety symptoms or with child-rated depressive symptoms. Implications regarding clinical utility of the ROARS and directions for future research are discussed.     

Spatial Proportional Reasoning Is Associated With Formal Knowledge About Fractions

Proportional reasoning involves thinking about parts and wholes (i.e., about fractional quantities). Yet, research on proportional reasoning and fraction learning has proceeded separately. This study assessed proportional reasoning and formal fraction knowledge in 8- to 10-year-olds. Participants (N = 52) saw combinations of cherry juice and water in displays that highlighted either part–whole or part–part relations. Their task was to indicate on a continuous rating scale how much each mixture would taste of cherries. Ratings suggested the use of a proportional integration rule for both kinds of displays, although more robustly and accurately for part–whole displays. The findings indicate that children may be more likely to scale proportional components when being presented with part–whole as compared with part–part displays. Crucially, ratings for part–whole problems correlated with fraction knowledge, even after controlling for age, suggesting that a sense of spatial proportions is associated with an understanding of fractional quantities.     

Diverging Paths: Understanding Racial Differences in Civic Engagement Among White,African American,and Latina/o Adolescents Using Structural Equation Modeling

There is increasing concern about the large civic engagement gap between Whites and Latina/o and African American youth. Some suggest this may be because traditional models and measures of civic engagement may not be as applicable for youth from historically marginalized groups. With an urban sample of middle and high school‐age youth (n = 903, 52% female), we used structural equation modeling to identify differences in civic pathways between youth from different racial/ethnic backgrounds. We found significant differences between groups including much stronger relationships between exposure to democratic practices and civic self‐efficacy and knowledge for African American and Latina/o youth than for White youth and a stronger relationship between civic knowledge and future civic engagement for Whites and Latina/os than for African Americans. These findings suggest that educators and researchers interested need to take into account the diversity of youths' racial experiences when examining youth civic development.