Speculations About Problems in Conducting Research with Public Offenders

Problems in conducting research with public offenders are legion. These problems include the lack of a systematic body of knowledge, the lack of avenues of dissemination of information, the lack of a data base describing the situation as it is now, and the lack of communication and/or rapport between researchers and many criminal justice staff members. In addition, ethical concerns about human research are becoming more evident and need to be dealt with. While a few ways of coping with these problems are mentioned, solutions often depend almost entirely on the quality of the setting and the individuals involved in it.     

Positioning Subjects and Objects: Agency,Narration, Relationality

When assumed by positions of dominance, the impersonal, analytical perspectives of scholar-narrators may serve to flatten, simplify, or render invisible the differences of constructed Others. Strategies of resistance necessarily correspond to where narrator-subjects enter relations of power. Without the presence of Others’ narrations, dominance can neither value newly visible subjective agency nor confront the complicity in its own subjectivity. Intersubjectivity suggests a dialogical process that utilizes differences in lived experience to reconceive relationality.     

Ten Years to Expertise,Many More to Greatness: An Investigation of Modern Writers

The “ten‐year rule” suggests that it takes about 10 years of preparation to reach “expert” status. How long does it take, however, for someone to reach a level of creative greatness? Through an analysis of 215 contemporary fiction writers, we found that these writers took an average of 10.6 years between their first publication and their best publication, although there was a high degree of variability. This tentatively suggests that at least for modern fiction writers, a second phase after the first ten years may be crucial for achieving eminence. We discuss these findings in the context of results found in other domains of creativity, along with limitations and future directions.     

The thrill of loving a dominant partner: Relationships between preference for a dominant mate,sensation seeking,and trait anxiety

This study investigates whether particular personality traits predict the desire to choose a dominant partner. Specifically examined are the traits of sensation seeking and trait anxiety as predictors of the preference for a dominant female/male partner. Sixty‐eight men and 104 women (N = 172) participated in an online survey. Individuals who avoid boredom and seek out exciting social activities have a stronger desire for a dominant partner. For female participants, we detected experience seeking and trait anxiety as additional factors associated with the preference for a dominant partner. Women higher in trait anxiety and lower in experience seeking have a higher preference for a dominant man. Gender differences are interpreted with regard to sexual selection theory and individual differences with respect to the theory of assortative mating.     

ANIMAL TALES: OBSERVATIONS OF THE EMOTIONS IN AMERICAN EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY, 1890–1940

In nineteenth‐century science, the emotions played a crucial role in explaining the social behavior of animals and human beings. Beginning in the 1890s, however, the first American psychologists, resolutely parsimonious in method, dismissed affective experience as intellectually imprecise. Yet in practice, feelings continued to influence at least one research setting: animal experiments. Laboratory reports, although focused on learning, became a repository of informal observations about the animals’ temperaments and moods. When American psychologists began to reexamine the emotions between the world wars, they drew on this empirical legacy in animal studies. They also devised a conceptual approach to emotion consistent with their expectation of experimental precision.     

Philosophy,Religion and Education American Style: A Literature Review

This literature review presents an overview of Christian higher education in the United States with particular attention to philosophical trends and their influence on institutions of Christian origin. This literature review is situated in the context of the discussion of the need, or lack thereof, for helping students integrate their faith with the learning they acquire in colleges and universities.     

Issues That Have Made a Difference

This article originally appeared as Chapter 14 in Dr. Callen's book Enriching Mind and Spirit: A History of Higher Education in the Church of God, published in 2007 by Anderson University Press. It appears here by special permission of the author. In this chapter, Dr. Callen presents a summary of several issues that have been faced by higher education institutions in the Church of God movement. In this discussion of issues confronted by these Church of God institutions, we glimpse the unique features of these institutions and the similarity of some issues faced by all Christian institutions of higher education.     

The Influence of Task Value,Expectancies for Success,and Identity on Athletes' Achievement Behaviors

This study extended and supported the use of Eccles et al.'s (1983) Eccles, J. S., Adler, T. F., Futterman, R., Goff, S. B., Kaczala, C. M., Meece, J. L. and Midgley, C. 1983. “Expectancies, values, and academic behaviors”. In Achievement and achievement motives: Psychological and sociological approaches, Edited by: Spence, J. T. 75–146. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman.  [Google Scholar] expectancy-value model to a competitive sport context. High school varsity basketball players (N = 189) were assessed on expectancies for success, interest value, attainment value, utility value, and basketball identity. Achievement behavior was measured as coaches't ratings of players' effort and persistence displayed throughout the season. Significant differences emerged between African-American and White athletes on all variables; however, no gender differences were present. Regression analyses indicated different patterns in the relationships among self- and task beliefs and achievement behaviors by race. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that self- and task beliefs mediated the relationship between identity and effort and persistence. Specifically, identity was a strong predictor of self- and task beliefs and expectancies significantly predicted effort and persistence. Explanations for the racial differences are discussed as well as the role that identity plays in the expectancy-value model and practical implications for coaches.