Infants’ perception of object–surface interplays

Twelve‐ and 18‐month‐old infants participated in a study designed to investigate the quality of their manual action when relating an object to the surface on which it is explored. Specifically, infants’ perception‐action routines were observed when they were presented with multiple objects (wooden scoop, Velcro block, and crayon) on surfaces of varying properties (paper, sand, and Velcro) to determine if sensory feedback or perceptual awareness steered their exploration of the available materials. Infants were observed to selectively tailor their manual actions across conditions, apparently guided by a perceived awareness of the fit between their manual dexterity and the environmental arrangement.     

Measurement of Sense of Community Within the Sphere of City1

Based on a deductive process, several objective items were developed to measure people's sense of community with their city of residence. An item analysis produced a 17-item scale, which was then evaluated for homogeneity and external validity in three studies using telephone interviews on random samples in Alabama and South Carolina. Of seven hypotheses that were tested, six received support. Results described the scale as internally reliable and unidimensional, and the scale differentiated between people who differed in terms of demographics, home ownership, and civic contributions. Contrary to prediction, the scale did not relate to how long people had lived in their city. Explanations for this were offered and then conclusions were drawn about the potential usefulness of the scale.     

Isolated teenagers, cooperative learning, and the training of social skills

The effects of individual and group contingencies on the achievement and social integration of isolated, learning-disabled students were studied. Five socially isolated and withdrawn eighth-grade students in foreign-language and math classes were subjects. The choice of working alone or in a group with no academic contingency (i.e., bonus points) was compared with working in cooperative learning groups with a group-academic contingency (i.e., bonus points), a group-academic contingency with social-skills training, and a group-academic contingency in combination with a social-skills contingency (i.e., bonus points). The results indicated that the combination of group-academic and social-skills contingencies produced in the socially isolated and withdrawn students the highest rates of appropriate social interaction with peers, acceptance and liking by peers, positive attitudes toward the subject area, and achievement.     

Informal control networks and adolescent orientations toward alcohol use

Utilizing panel data obtained from 345 high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors in a medium-sized community in the Pacific Northwest, this study investigated the roles parental and peer informal control structures play in predicting adolescent alcohol use and abuse. The findings suggest that the "youth world" and "adult world" control structures are predictive of adolescents' orientations toward alcohol, though generally in different directions. While the adult-world predictors tended to constrain use and abuse, those of the youth world promoted use and discouraged abstinence. Further, changes occurred in the relative importance of the parental and peer predictors across time.     

Mitigating circumstance information, censure, and aggression

One hundred men received one of two levels of mitigating circumstance information either before or after being insulted or not insulted by a co-worker. Participants were then provided with an opportunity ostensibly to deliver aversive noise to the co-worker under either high or low social censure conditions. Physiological data and self-report measures revealed that participants who learned of mitigating circumstance information before being provoked exhibited smaller increases in physiological arousal and reported less annoyance than did those who learned of mitigating circumstance information after insult. Aggression data showed that angered participants evaluated their provoker more favorably and retaliated less when they learned of mitigation before rather than after being insulted. These findings supported attribution theory assumptions that mitigating circumstance information known before the provoking incident influences the individual's interpretation of harm, thereby reducing anger and the instigation to aggression. The reduced impact of information on aggression that is acquired after provocation may reflect the provoked individual's shift of attention from cues surrounding harm to a consideration of inhibitory factors for aggression.     

Effects of Florida's Personal Fitness Course on cognitive, attitudinal and physical fitness measures of secondary students: a pilot study

The effects of Florida's Personal Fitness Course were studied on 60 secondary students' cognitive achievement, physical fitness, and attitude toward physical activity. Significant improvement in knowledge of fitness concepts, selected physical fitness parameters, and over-all attitude toward participation in physical activity suggests the course was effective.     

Knowledge utilization and planned change: An empirical assessment of the A VICTORY model

A number of models and theories of knowledge used in recent years have been purported to include determinants necessary and sufficient for predicting outcomes. There have been, however, few empirical assessments of these models reported in the literature. The present research attempts to fill this void by validating the A VICTORY model, which represents one of the most well-known theories of knowledge utilization and planned change., A heuristic factor analytic approach found that the model can be quantified and reliably measured to assess the readiness of organizations to combat violence. A two-staged discriminant analysis, using two outside criterion variables found that selected A VICTORY factors may (in part) satisfy necessary conditions for explaining, research use and planned change; but the model, in its entirety, does not sufficiently explain the reasons that organizations use research or why they engage in change of any kind. Knowlton W. Johnson is director of the College of Urban and Public Affairs' Urban Studies Center at the University of Louisville, Louisville, Ky 40292. He is also a professor in the School of Justice Administration and co-editor of theJournal of Urban Affairs. His current research in knowledge utilization includes evaluating the effects of information brokers on research use and monitoring the impact of university disseminated and/or produced information on policymaking in local and state government.     

A job club at a state hospital

A job club conducted at a state hospital placed 78% of job seekers in competitive employment. Referrals included inpatient, halfway house, and outpatient clients. The results indicate that while client demographics and treatment histories are associated with different success rates, a majority of all client groups found work.