Achieving effective learning effects in the blended course: a combined approach of online self-regulated learning and collaborative learning with initiation

In many countries, undergraduates are required to take at least one introductory computer course to enhance their computer literacy and computing skills. However, the application software education in Taiwan can hardly be deemed as effective in developing students' practical computing skills. The author applied online self-regulated learning (SRL) and collaborative learning (CL) with initiation in a blended computing course and examined the effects of different combinations on enhancing students' computing skills. Four classes, comprising 221 students, participated in this study. The online SRL and CL with initiation (G1, n?=?53), online CL with initiation (G2, n?=?68), and online CL without initiation (G3, n?=?68) were experimental groups, and the last class, receiving traditional lecture (G4, n?=?32), was the control group. The results of this study show that students who received the intervention of online SRL and CL with initiation attained significantly best grades for practical computing skills, whereas those that received the traditional lectures had statistically poorest grades among the four classes. The implications for schools and educators who plan to provide online or blended learning for their students, particularly in computing courses, are also provided in this study.     

A Geographic Analysis of Chronically Homeless Adults Before and After Enrollment in a Multi-Site Supported Housing Initiative: Community Characteristics and Migration

The current study examined the community characteristics and migration of chronically homeless adults before and after entry into a multi-site supported housing initiative. A total of 394 participants were geocoded at baseline and 12-month follow up. Data from geographic information systems indicate that the median distance participants traveled from their last residence to their residence 1 year after program entry was 4.6 miles and 12% of participants traveled more than 100 miles. Participants moved into communities with higher population densities, larger proportions of Whites, and smaller proportions of Blacks following their entry into supported housing, but continued to live in communities with higher crime rates, lower education levels, and lower income levels then the state average. At 12 months, Black participants residing in communities with higher population densities and larger Black populations reported higher social support and lower subjective distress. This underscores the importance of considering client preferences in housing. Together, these findings suggest that supported housing programs may be successful in finding housing for homeless clients, but are not placing them in improved communities. Special attention may also be needed for some clients who travel long distances between residences.     

False reports from patients with frontotemporal dementia: delusions or confabulations?

Patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) can make false statements consistent with delusions or confabulations. It is unclear whether bvFTD is primarily associated with either delusions or with confabulations and whether they can be explained by the pathophysiology of this disease. In order to clarify this, we retrospectively surveyed the records of 48 patients with bvFTD for the presence of any false reports and identified four patients. Their false reports included continued interaction with a favorite but dead relation, fictitious marriages with movie stars, and two who claimed that their partner was having an affair. When confronted with the falsity of their statements, the patients conveyed a lack of certainty regarding their external or internal source but persisted in the constancy of their reports. On functional neuroimaging, the patients had predominant frontal involvement. This report found that patients with bvFTD can have both fantastic, wish fulfilling confabulations and typical content-specific delusions. We propose that both phenomena result from known disturbances of ventromedial prefrontal cortex in bvFTD, including deficits in source monitoring and in activating an automatic "doubt tag" for false reports.     

Change in ethnic identity across the college transition

This article examined changes in ethnic identity as a function of college type and residential status and whether differences due to college type could be explained by involvement in extracurricular activities and college ethnic composition. Although no changes in ethnic labeling or belonging were found, there was a normative decrease in ethnic search, independent of residential status. Moreover, the decline in ethnic search was significantly greater at 2- than 4-year colleges, and this difference was mediated by higher rates of participation in extracurricular activities at 4-year colleges. Ethnic identity did not vary by college ethnic composition. There were no ethnic or generation differences in ethnic identity change; however, women were more likely to include an American term in their ethnic label than were men, over time. Averaging across time, students at 4-year colleges also had a greater preference for the American term in their ethnic labels. Findings illuminate the importance of context in shaping ethnic identity.     

The influence of the perception of a familial climate on job performance: mediation of loyalty to supervisors and moderation of filial behaviour

With a collectivist cultural perspective, we examined the positive effects of employees' perceptions of a familial climate on loyalty to supervisors, the mediation of loyalty between perception of a familial climate and job performance, and the moderation of employees' filial behaviour on the relationship between perception of a familial climate and loyalty. The participants consisted of 247 supervisor-and-subordinate dyads in Taiwan. The results supported our hypotheses. Through the mechanisms of family behaviour transference, social identification and supervisor-subordinate exchange, perception of an organizational familial climate enhanced loyalty to supervisors. Furthermore, loyalty to supervisors mediated the relationship between perception of a familial climate and job performance. Filial behaviour moderated the relationship between perception of a familial climate and loyalty; thus, the relationship of perception of a familial climate and loyalty was stronger for employees with low levels of filial behaviour and weaker for employees with high levels of filial behaviour. These findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications for future research and management practices.     

The Concerns about Counseling Racial Minority Clients scale

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Concerns about Counseling Racial Minority Clients (CCRMC) scale among counselor trainees. Sample 1 was used for an exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Four factors were identified, Managing Cultural Differences (α = .82), Offending or Hurting Clients (α = .87), Biased Thoughts and Behaviors (α = .81), and Client Perceptions (α = .77). The coefficient alpha for the CCRMC was .90. The results support the validity of the scale. The scores on the CCRMC and its subscales have positive associations with fear of negative evaluation from others (r = .19 to .40) and negative associations with general counseling self-efficacy (r = -.30 to -.46) and multicultural intervention self-efficacy (r = -.30 to -.64). The CCRMC significantly predicted fear of negative evaluation, session management self-efficacy, and multicultural intervention self-efficacy over and above multicultural social desirability. The validity evidence was not different between White and minority graduate trainees. In Sample 2, the estimated 1-week test-retest reliabilities ranged from .75 to .96 for the CCRMC and its four subscales.     

Food Security and Perceived Well-being among Household Heads in Ghana

Access to food as a critical factor in determining individuals’ well-being in low income countries is of grave importance both in theory and public policy. Therefore this study, designed to enhance our understanding of food (in)security’s impact on quality of life, presents a micro-level analysis of factors associated with food provision, food satisfaction, and happiness in Ghana. Our empirical analysis first investigates the patterns and variations of food provision among Ghanaian households, and then evaluates how the provision factors, along with other socio-economic status and reciprocal behaviors, affect avowed well-being as measured by (1) the household heads’ subjective sense of being nonpoor and (2) reported feelings of happiness. The data are drawn from the Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire (CWIQ) survey conducted in 2003, with a sample of 40,481 households. Regression outcomes reveal that the usage of land, owning of livestock and amount of food spending particularly favor male-headed households’ food security, which in turn leads men not to endorse “feeling poor” and, instead, to report greater happiness than is the case, in most instances, for women. Familial reciprocity also strengthens subjective well-being by way of increasing food security among Ghanaians. Family values as such, rather than decline in significance, appear to play a critical role in food security in Ghana.     

Ethical Work Climate and Organizational Citizenship Behavior in the Taiwanese Military

This is the first study to examine how types of ethical work climates (EWCs) are related to facets of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in military units. Research hypotheses were examined using sample data collected from 508 military officers in Taiwan. The results indicated that the overall EWC and some climate types are significantly positively or negatively associated with overall OCB, OCB-organization (OCBO), OCB-individual (OCBI), and in-role behavior (IRB). Implications of EWC and practical management are discussed, and directions for future research are suggested.     

Stable icosahedral quasicrystals in the Ag-In-Ca,Ag-In-Yb,Ag-In-Ca-Mg and Ag-In-Yb-Mg systems

On the basis of the idea that a quasicrystal is a compound in which the average number of valence electrons per atom is around 2.0 and that its formation is dominated by atom size, stable icosahedral quasicrystals have been successfully synthesized in Ag-In-Ca, Ag-In-Yb, Ag-In-Ca-Mg and Ag- In-Yb-Mg systems. The Ag-In-Ca and Ag-In-Yb icosahedral quasicrystals have stoichiometry around Ag 42 In 42 Ca 16 and Ag 42 In 42 Yb 16 . The Ag-In-Ca-Mg and Ag-In-Yb-Mg quasicrystals form in the composition ranges Ag42 x /2 In 42 x /2 Ca 16 Mg x ( x =0-7.5 at.%) and Ag 42 x /2 In 42 x /2 Yb 16 Mg x ( x =0-10 at.%). Electron diffraction studies confirmed that the icosahedral quasicrystals have a primitive lattice. The average number of valence electrons per atom in all these quasicrystals is 2.0.     

Production of single quasicrystals and their electrical resistivity in the Al-Pd-Re system

Single Al-Pd-Re icosahedral quasicrystals with a maximum diameter of 5mm have been grown by a slow cooling method on the basis of a partial phase diagram determined in the present study. Laue X-ray and electron diffraction verified the highly ordered structure of the single icosahedral quasicrystals. The electrical resistivity rho of the single quasicrystals was measured to be 2000- 4000muOmegacm at 300K and 3000-6000muOmegacm at 2K, revealing a negative temperature dependence with a rho_4.2K/rho_300K value smaller than 2.