Boundary regulation in family and personal systems: Perceptions of late adolescents

Examination of boundary regulation can provide family therapists with a framework to describe both the functioning of family systems and personal systems (i.e., the intrapsychic functioning of individual family members). In the present study, late adolescents' perceptions of boundary regulation within their family systems (i.e., ratings of family health, communication, leadership, expressiveness, cohesion, and family conflict) were related to regulation of their personal boundaries (i.e., self-reported personal competence, distress, and patterns of defense mechanism use). In addition, personal system variables reliably discriminated between adolescents who described their families as psychologically healthy versus psychologically unhealthy.     

Corporate consciousness: Defining the paradigm

The concept of corporate consciousness is defined and discussed. In response to Campion and Palmer (1996), it is asserted that corporate consciousness is not a construct related to conscientiousness or moral responsibility, but an entirely new paradigm, related to awareness and information processing; the concept is cognitive, not metaphysical. Corporate consciousness serves as a framework for understanding the current trend within organizations toward greater awareness of societal realities, and of the organization's impact within larger systems. This framework borrows heavily from the cognitive, social, and organizational psychological literature and can be understood from both micro and macro levels of analysis. Also discussed are the issues of why and how to study corporate consciousness, as well as implications for the organizational practitioner.     

Employment rejection and acceptance letters and their unintended consequences on image,self-concept,and intentions

This paper demonstrates that the positiveness and negativeness of letters of acceptance and rejection from companies have an impact on company image, self-concept of recipient, and reported future intentions of potential recruits. The implication for employers writing letters of acceptance and rejection is that they should communicate with prospective recruits in a positive manner no matter what the letter's message. Positive rejection letters can mitigate effects of rejection and negative acceptance letters can impair the positiveness of acceptance.This research was partially supported by Grant #82037 from the Purdue Agricultural Research Station. Reprints should be addressed to Dr. Richard Feinberg, Department of Consumer Sciences and Retailing, Purdue University, 1262 Matthews Hall, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1262.     

Ethical issues in a study of Internet use: uncertainty, responsibility, and the spirit of research relationships

In this article we explore ethical issues arising in a study of home Internet use by low-income families. We consider questions of our responsibility as educational researchers and discuss the ethical implications of some unanticipated consequences of our study. We illustrate ways in which the principles of research ethics for use of human subjects can be ambiguous and possibly inadequate for anticipating potential harm in educational research. In this exploratory research of personal communication technologies, participants experienced changes that were personal and relational. These unanticipated changes in their way of being complicated our research relationships, testing the boundaries of our committment to the principle of trustworthiness and forcing us to reevaluate our responsibilities.     

One size doesn't fit all: Full inclusion and individual differences

Recent studies have documented the increasing trend among school districts toward adopting full inclusion as the predominant model for serving students who qualify for special education services. Although these data may suggest that a paradigm shift has already taken place and that a consensus of opinion has been achieved, several organizations representing students with specific disabilities continue to support a continuum of placement options. This paper challenges a one size fits all approach to special education, and highlights the importance of considering the individual characteristics of students. The relevance of research on full inclusion, as well as methodological issues that limit generalizability of findings related to student outcomes, are discussed. The radical perspective of full inclusion is rejected in favor of an approach that emphasizes the complexities of placement decisions.     

Improving the spelling performance of students with disabilities

The present study examined the effects of an error correction strategy on the spelling accuracy of students with emotional and/or learning disabilities. The strategy, which asked students to spell a word, view a correct model, and then correct their errors, was compared to a traditional strategy that asked students to write words three times each while viewing a correct model. Results showed that students learned more words in the error correction condition than in the traditional condition. The error correction treatment was shown to be an effective strategy that reduced the number of repetitive spelling practice trials, and was preferred by students.     

Event-related brain potentials elicited by rhyming and non-rhyming pictures differentiate subgroups of reading disabled adolescents

Event-related brain potentials were recorded while disabled adolescent subjects read and judged whether two sequentially presented pictures had names that rhymed. Subjects with relatively good phonetic skills displayed an N400 priming effect, i.e., a significant reduction in the amplitude of the negative peak, occurring approximately 400 msec post-stimulus, for pictures with names that rhymed with preceding pictures as compared with pictures that had names that did not rhyme with the prime. No such effect was evident for subjects with relatively poor phonetic skills. This lack of an N400 priming effect provides evidence for a reduction in neural capacity and/or activation during phonological processing in the subjects with poor phonological skills. Demonstrating the N400 priming effect to be stronger in one group of reading disabled subjects, compared to another, supports the position that specific subtypes of reading disability exist. In addition to the stronger N400 priming effect, the phonetically stronger group also exhibited an enhanced negativity, from 700 to 1,000 msec after target stimulus onset, compared to phonetically inferior subjects. This finding replicates earlier work and possibly reflects a higher level of confidence in the group with better phonetic skills.     

The relationship between childhood violence and alcohol problems among men who batter: An empirical review and synthesis

The available literature indicates that: (a) experiences of childhood violence are associated with mediator variables, including antisocial behaviors and depressive symptomatology, that are themselves associated with development of alcohol problems and perpetration of partner violence for men in adulthood; (b) experiences of childhood violence and, more strongly, observation of interparental violence during childhood predict perpetration of partner violence in adulthood for males; (c) presence of partner violence is associated with certain types of alcohol problems for men; and (d) both partner violence and alcohol problems are associated with marital conflict. However, available research has often excluded important moderator variables, such as history of familial and parental alcohol problems and history of parental psychiatric disorders. Based on the available research, two indirect pathways between childhood violence and adulthood problems (i.e., alcohol problems and partner violence) are proposed as guides for future research in the areas of family violence and alcohol problems for men. Further, bidirectional associations between alcohol problems and partner violence are proposed. Finally, inclusion of important moderator and mediator variables in multivariate research designs is suggested.