MIND‐INDEPENDENCE DISAMBIGUATED: SEPARATING THE MEAT FROM THE STRAW IN THE REALISM/ANTI‐REALISM DEBATE

The notion of mind‐independence plays a central role in the contemporary realism/anti‐realism debate, but the notion is severely ambiguous and consequently the source of considerable misunderstanding. In this paper, four kinds of mind‐independence are distinguished: ontological, causal, structural, and individuative independence. Appreciating these distinctions entails that one can reject the individuative independence of the natural world, and still maintain that the natural world is causally and structurally independent of us. This paper argues that so‐called anti‐realists, especially Rorty, Putnam, and Goodman, are not opposed to the causal and structural independence of the natural world, as is frequently alleged, but rather its individuative independence. An acceptance of these points will hopefully put an end to the prevalence of strawmen in the debate, and focus attention on meatier issues.     

Supporting Integrity of Discrete Trial Teaching via Tiered Consultation: A Pilot Study

Empirically supported consultation procedures for supporting implementation of evidence-based interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), such as performance feedback, may be challenging to implement in public schools. Educators may find performance feedback aversive, and support personnel may find its directiveness incompatible with their professional roles. This pilot study extends recent advances in implementation science, by investigating the influence of tiered consultation on intervention integrity of Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT). A less intensive form of implementation support was examined for its feasibility and effectiveness. Collaborative Student Data Review (CSDR) includes discussion, general feedback, and modeling. Preliminary findings indicate that CSDR is a feasible and acceptable form of implementation support, and that it shows potential as a form of implementation support for DTT.     

An analysis of the concept of cool and its marketing implications

Cool has become the favoured language of popular culture. This paper examines the roots of cool and its evolution with reference to its relevance to marketers. In particular, the work of Bourdieu and the concepts of cultural capital and cultural intermediaries are drawn on. The importance of talking to cultural intermediaries led Seagram to carry out a research programme that examines the process of adoption of alcoholic drinks and ways of reaching ‘style leaders’. Given the problem of recruiting and researching ‘style leaders’, the research employed specialist recruiters and moderators and a combination of direct and indirect questioning. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications.     

Emotional arousal and gender differences in aggression: A meta‐analysis

This meta‐analysis investigated the possibility that gender differences in aggression, and the variability in these differences, are a function of gender differences in the regulation of arousal generated in emotionally evocative contexts. The sample of studies for this analysis was based on an exhaustive search of the relevant research reports from 1965–1999. Studies were excluded from the sample if they were case studies; investigated spousal/familial or societal violence, war, suicide, or political violence; involved clinical or deviant participants; included fewer than 10 participants; included all male, all female, all non‐Caucasian, or non‐US/non‐Canadian participants. Based on previous evidence that males may be more easily aroused by aggressive‐relevant emotional stimuli than females, and that males may have more difficulty regulating emotionally arousing states than females, we hypothesized that the magnitude of the gender differences in aggression would covary, in a nonlinear manner, with the emotional evocativeness of the study context. Consistent with our hypothesis, the magnitude of gender differences in aggression was relatively small in research contexts that appeared to produce no or large increments in emotional arousal and larger (favoring males) in contexts that appeared to produce small or medium increments in emotional arousal. Aggr. Behav. 28:366–393, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Estimated Risk of Developing Selected DSM-IV Disorders Among 5-Year-Old Children with Prenatal Cocaine Exposure

We estimated childhood risk of developing selected DSM-IV Disorders, including Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), and Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD), in children with prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE). Children were enrolled prospectively at birth (n = 476) with prenatal drug exposures documented by maternal interview, urine and meconium assays. Study participants included 400 African-American children from the birth cohort, 208 cocaine-exposed (CE) and 192 non-cocaine-exposed (NCE), who attended a 5-year follow-up assessment and whose caregiver completed the Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children. Under a generalized linear model (logistic link), Fisher’s exact methods were used to estimate the PCE-associated relative risk (RR) of these disorders. Our results indicated a modest but statistically robust elevation of ADHD risk associated with increasing levels of PCE (p < 0.05). Binary comparison of CE versus NCE children indicated no PCE-associated RR. Estimated cumulative incidence proportions among CE children were 2.9% for ADHD (vs 3.1% NCE); 1.4% for SAD (vs 1.6% NCE); and 4.3% for ODD (vs 6.8% NCE). Our findings suggest evidence of increased risk of ADHD (but not ODD or SAD) in relation to an increasing gradient of PCE during gestation.     

Information-Seeking Practices during the Sexual Development of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals: The Influence and Effects of Coming Out in a Mediated Environment

Constructing a sexual identity is one of the major developmental tasks of adolescence. Applying the Media Practice Model, this study retrospectively examines how self-identifying lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals used media during the commencement of the coming-out process and the effects of media use during this pivotal time of development. Results indicate that the Internet plays a critical role in the development of LGB sexual identities. Heavy users of media during the coming-out process are significantly less likely to communicate openly with their families later in life. However, individuals’ reports of loneliness and self-esteem are not affected. Conclusions suggest that mediated forms of communication can be beneficial for sexual exploration among LGB individuals.     

Type of stimulus mediates the relationship between working-memory performance and type of precocity

The relationship between type of stimulus (numeric and verbal) and type of precocity (mathematical and verbal) was examined in tasks designed to tap three aspects of working memory: encoding, capacity, and manipulation of information. The tasks included semantic categorization, odd-even categorization, recall of five-item lists after semantic categorization, and recall of items in a continuous paired-associates task. Correlations between task performance and the mathematical and verbal portions of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT-M and SAT-V) were computed for gifted youth. There were no sex differences in the performance measures or in the pattern of correlations between performance and SAT scores. The analysis revealed positive relationships between SAT-M scores and numeric categorization latency, recall in the continuous paired-associate task with words and digits, and recall of digit lists. SAT-V scores were related only to word recall in the continuous paired-associate task and recall of word lists. In the working-memory tasks used, mathematical precocity is more strongly related to performance than is verbal precocity. The relationship is especially strong with numeric stimuli, even when the numeric stimuli are simply items to be remembered. The relationship between type of stimulus and type of precocity suggests underlying differences between verbally and mathematically precocious youth in how different types of stimuli are represented in memory.     

Attitudes of high school students toward carrier screening and prenatal diagnosis of cystic fibrosis

The identification of the common mutations of the cystic fibrosis (CF) transmembrane conductance regulator gene has made it feasible to consider population-based CF carrier screening. However, the demand for such programs will depend largely on the attitudes and perceptions of the general public toward genetic testing. As part of a high school science project, we initiated studies to determine the attitudes of high school students toward carrier screening for CF and other genetic disorders. From a class of 120 biology students, 101 consented to participate in the study. Most of the students were of European ancestry and there were no known family histories of CF. Buccal swabs were obtained for PCR amplification and heteroduplex detection of the most common CF mutation (F508). The students and their corresponding buccal swabs were assigned random numbers and the results were kept confidential unless the student requested his/her test result. A questionnaire was used to assess the students' attitudes toward carrier screening and prenatal diagnosis. This questionnaire was given both before testing and after the class was informed that three individuals were carriers of the F508 mutation. Overall, the data indicate that high school students are receptive to the concepts of carrier screening and prenatal diagnosis. However, their attitudes changed considerably when informed of the possibility that they might actually be a F508 carrier, with marked increases in the level of indecision. At the conclusion of the study, very few students (5/101) requested information about their F508 carrier status.     

A modification of the Fenigstein, Scheier, and Buss Self-Consciousness Scales

Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to examine the structure of the Fenigstein, Scheier, and Buss (1975) Self-consciousness Scales. Several weaknesses were identified and modifications were made to improve the representation of the underlying structure of the data. Five items were found to be relatively unreliable and were dropped. Two separate but correlated private self-consciousness dimensions, self-reflectiveness and internal state awareness, were identified. The resulting four-factor self-consciousness model fit the data more adequately than the three-factor model of Fenigstein et al.