The Little Prince – an introduction to spirituality: a moving experience in religious education for primary school children in a secularised world

In our research the right of the child for spiritual development is central. Grimmitt’s distinction in ‘teaching in’, ‘about’ and ‘from religion’ is extended with the concept of ‘teaching for’ – a concept that connects religion with children’s attitude of wondering as an ‘ontological calling’ in their life. The question whether a non-religious story can function as a rich learning environment for ‘teaching for’, is explored in a ‘picture voice’-research design. In a small pilot study with four children in primary school age an episode of the story of The Little Prince was presented as a ‘rich learning environment’. We conclude from this pilot that the narration of a non-religious story, together with the child’s drawing of the story’s ‘critical incident’ and a subsequent conversation (‘picture voice’) functions as a stepping stone for the development of spirituality.     

Longitudinal Links Between Childhood Peer Victimization, Internalizing and Externalizing Problems, and Academic Functioning: Developmental Cascades

Developmental cascade models linking childhood peer victimization, internalizing and externalizing problems, and academic functioning were examined in a sample of 695 children assessed in Grade 3 (academic only) and Grades 5, 6, 7, and 8. Results revealed several complex patterns of associations in which poorer functioning in one domain influenced poorer outcomes in other areas. For example, a symptom driven pathway was consistently found with internalizing problems predicting future peer victimization. Support for an academic incompetence model was also found— lower GPA in Grade 5, 6, and 7 was associated with more externalizing issues in the following year, and poor writing performance in Grade 3 predicted lower grades in Grade 5, which in turn predicted more externalizing problems in Grade 6. Results highlight the need to examine bidirectional influences and multifarious transactions that exist between peer victimization, mental health, and academic functioning over time.     

The Self-efficacy for Parenting Adolescents Scale: Development and Initial Validation

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Adolescence can be a difficult developmental period for children and their parents. During this time, parents need to develop new skills, and their perceived...     

What’s in a name? The role of graphics,functions, and their interrelationships in icon identification

Communication using icons is now commonplace. It is therefore important to understand the processes involved in icon comprehension and the stimulus cues that individuals utilize to facilitate identification. In this study, we examined predictors of icon identification as participants gained experience with icons over a series of learning trials. A dynamic pattern of findings emerged in which the primary predictors of identification changed as learning progressed. In early learning trials, semantic distance (the closeness of the relationship between icon and function) was the best predictor of performance, accounting for up to 55% of the variance observed, whereas familiarity with the function was more important in later trials. Other stimulus characteristics, such as our familiarity with the graphic in the icon and its concreteness, were also found to be important for icon design. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed, with particular emphasis on the parallels with picture naming. The icon identification norms from this study may be downloaded from brm.psychonomic-journals .org/content/supplemental.     

Necessities of Origin and Constitution

The once deeply held conviction that all necessary truths are known a priori is now widely, although by no means universally agreed to have been subjected to penetrating, if not devastating criticism. Scott Soames, for example, on behalf of Saul Kripke, and indirectly of Hilary Putnam, argues that in respect of natural kinds, the introduction of basic essentialist assumptions grounded in our pre-theoretical habits of thinking and speaking – for example, that atomic or molecular structure provides the underlying essence of a substance – allows a sentence like "water = H₂0," in which the identity sign is flanked by rigid designators to express a metaphysically necessary truth. Yet doubts and puzzlement remain over the status of a posteriori necessities, including those relating to an individual's origin. This paper considers some prominent criticisms that have been made of the Kripke–Putnam approach by A. J. Ayer and Frank Ebersole among others and reveals in what respects they are valid, where they are misplaced, and, perhaps more importantly, why the most valuable aspect of this approach can be seen to reflect aspects of our scientific procedures that do indeed point towards an application for a distinction that roughly mirrors that between epistemic and metaphysical possibility, yet one that is grounded instead in the nature of our actual practices.     

The range‐bound changing criterion design

This article describes a novel form of the classic changing criterion design called the range‐bound changing criterion design. The article illustrates the new design by reporting results from the first study to use this simple variation of the changing criterion design. The article also identifies other interventions, target behaviors, and contexts for which the range‐bound changing criterion design is useful, as well as guidelines and rationales for using this new design. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

What memory strategy is best for examinations in psychology?

This study examines the memory strategies used by psychology students during their finals examinations. The strategies used, as evidenced by exam plans at the front of their answers, were related to actual examination performance. The results of the present study showed that, when students' worst marks were considered, those not showing evidence of having used any strategy performed significantly worse than those using a strategy. The strategy which involved listing researchers names proved to be better than a no‐strategy approach. However, when students' best marks were considered, no differences were apparent in examination marks as a result of the strategies which students employed. This suggests that the type of strategy used is more important when students' knowledge of a topic is weak in comparison to when students have a good knowledge of a topic area. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Process dissociation of sight vocabulary and phonetic decoding in reading: a new perspective on surface and phonological dyslexias

Recent research on developmental dyslexia has suggested a phonological core deficit hypothesis (e.g., Manis, Seidenberg, Doi, McBride-Chang, & Peterson, 1996; Stanovich, Siegel, & Gottardo, 1997) whereby pure cases of developmental phonological dyslexia (dysfunctional phonetic decoding processing but normal sight vocabulary processing) can exist, but pure cases of developmental surface dyslexia (dysfunctional sight vocabulary processing but normal phonetic decoding processing) should not. By applying Jacoby's (1991) and Lindsay and Jacoby's (1994) process dissociation procedure to the reading of regular and exception words, we present a method that serves to estimate readers' reliance on sight vocabulary and phonetic decoding during real word recognition. These reliance estimates are then used in Castles and Coltheart's (1993) regression-based approach to identify normal readers and developmental dyslexics. This new method: (1) allows one to explore normal reading acquisition and both the delay and deviance accounts of developmental dyslexia, (2) provides an alternative to matching dyslexics to both chronological-age and reading-age control groups, and (3) uses only real words. We present evidence that pure cases of developmental surface dyslexia can be obtained with both Castles and Coltheart's measure as well as our own, and that developmental surface dyslexia is not simply a delayed reading deficit. The theoretical importance and utility of estimates of reliance on sight vocabulary and phonetic decoding is discussed.     

Personal Resources Moderate the Relationship Between Work Stress and Psychological Strain of Submariners

Work stress and personal resources that protect against personal strain and psychological distress were surveyed in 78 Royal Australian Navy submariners. We hypothesized that work stress and distress would be greater for senior than junior ranks, for married than single personnel, and for submariners with few personal resources. We also hypothesized that distress, and the moderating effects of personal resources, would be greater at sea than ashore. Work stress and psychological distress were greater for senior than junior ranks, both at sea and ashore. As well, psychological distress was greater at sea than ashore, particularly for senior ranks, but was moderated by personal resources. These findings have important implications for improving work conditions and individual well-being for submariners.