Effect of low dose ionizing radiation exposure in utero on cognitive function in adolescence

Heiervang, K. S., Mednick, S., Sundet, K. & Rund, B. R. (2010). Effect of low dose ionizing radiation exposure in utero on cognitive function in adolescence. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 210–215. Radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant meltdown greatly affected several Norwegian counties. The cognitive consequences of in utero exposure to radiation from the Chernobyl accident have been intensely debated. This study examines the cognitive outcomes for those Norwegians who were exposed as fetuses to the fallout from Chernobyl. The participants, 84 adolescents who were exposed in utero to radiation from the most contaminated areas in Norway and 94 adolescents from areas not contaminated by the radiation, were tested on verbal and nonverbal IQ. Two data analyses were conducted. First, using a control‐group design, the IQ scores of exposed and unexposed adolescents were compared. Second, in a timing‐of‐exposure design, those exposed during the most sensitive period were contrasted with those exposed later in gestation. Adolescents exposed to low‐dose ionizing radiation in utero scored significantly lower in full‐scale IQ than unexposed adolescents. The difference was restricted to verbal IQ and was not evident for nonverbal IQ. The effect was not observed in exposed adolescents who had passed the most sensitive gestational period prior to the accident and thus were exposed to the radiation from Chernobyl exclusively after gestational week 16. These participants performed as well as the controls. Although the results should be interpreted cautiously due to the study’s nonrandomized design, the data add new and important support to the hypothesis that the Chernobyl accident may have had a subtle effect on the cognitive functioning of those exposed to low‐dose ionizing radiation in utero during the most sensitive gestational period.     

Girls Study Girls Inc.: Engaging Girls in Evaluation Through Participatory Action Research

Between 2004 and 2007, Girls Incorporated^® conducted research about the experience of five affiliates from different parts of the United States as they engaged with girls in Girls Study Girls Inc., a participatory evaluation project that explored the meaning and impact of Girls Inc. environments and uncovered ways such environments can be improved. We describe the context and motivation for using participatory action research [PAR] in Girls Inc. environments and discuss the relevance and importance of PAR for organizations that empower girls and young women. We explain the process of training and engaging Girls Inc. members in research, discuss the effectiveness of Girls Study Girls Inc. as an evaluation strategy, and conclude this article with lessons learned and recommendations for using PAR in evaluating youth development programs.     

Men’s Gendered Constructions of Intimate Partner Violence as Predictors of Court-Mandated Batterer Treatment Drop Out

The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning men make of their violence toward intimate partners and to examine if and how these meanings and constructions of violence predicted who drops out of batterer treatment prior to program completion. We used both qualitative and quantitative data collected from 154 men court-mandated to participate in a batterer intervention program. The qualitative findings indicated that the men in this sample minimized and denied responsibility for the violence they used towards their intimate partners while simultaneously rationalizing and justifying their violent behavior. Such findings provide insight into how denial and minimization and, more broadly, men’s constructions of masculinity might predict their tendency to drop out of batterer treatment. Furthermore, building upon our qualitative findings, logistic regression analysis revealed that men who were lower income, no longer intimately involved with the women they abused, and who reported lower levels of physical violence and higher levels of hostility were more likely to drop out of the batterer treatment program.     

小学语文教学中改善学生情绪调节困难状况的实验研究

采用实验组、控制组前后测实验设计,选取42名小学四年级学生,以语文学科教学为依托,运用教学实验方法探索语文教学中改善学生情绪调节困难状况之渗透方式的有效性。结果表明:学科渗透可以在一定程度上改善学生情绪调节困难状况、促进心理素质发展,特别是对中、高程度情绪调节困难学生的改善更为显著;实验组语文学业成绩比控制组有所提高,但并未达到显著性水平。说明学科渗透可以作为学生心理素质教育实施的有效途径之一。     

从体外受精技术获诺贝尔奖谈从事转化医学研究

转化医学是促进基础研究向临床应用的转化,同时根据临床实际提出应用基础研究课题。从2010年获诺贝尔生理学或医学奖体外受精技术的发展,探讨了转化医学研究的内容和实现转化医学研究的途径,以便更好地促进临床医学研究。     

Cognitive systems struggling for word order

We argue that the grammatical diversity observed among the world’s languages emerges from the struggle between individual cognitive systems trying to impose their preferred structure on human language. We investigate the cognitive bases of the two most common word orders in the world’s languages: SOV (Subject–Object–Verb) and SVO. Evidence from language change, grammaticalization, stability of order, and theoretical arguments, indicates a syntactic preference for SVO. The reason for the prominence of SOV languages is not as clear. In two gesture-production experiments and one gesture comprehension experiment, we show that SOV emerges as the preferred constituent configuration in participants whose native languages (Italian and Turkish) have different word orders. We propose that improvised communication does not rely on the computational system of grammar. The results of a fourth experiment, where participants comprehended strings of prosodically flat words in their native language, shows that the computational system of grammar prefers the orthogonal Verb–Object orders.     

The Fortieth Anniversary of Women's Ordination in the Lutheran Church

Abstract : This article offers a perspective on the present and future roles of women in the ELCA. It gives some analysis of women's roles in the trend of declining traditional congregations and rising megachurches while imagining the role of clergywomen in the church's next forty years as new models of ministry emerge.     

小学生的社会技能与友善—敌对型教师互动风格、社交归因的关系

以武汉市343名小学三至六年级的儿童为被试,考察儿童友善—敌对型教师互动风格与社交归因、社会技能之间的关系。结果显示:友善型、理解型教师互动风格与小学生成功内部归因、环境、自我、任务行为技能呈显著正相关,与成功外部归因呈显著负相关;理解型教师互动风格与人际行为技能呈显著正相关;不满型和训诫型教师互动风格与小学生成功和失败外部归因因呈显著正相关,与成功和失败内归因、四种行为技能呈显著负相关;成功内部归因与四种行为技能呈显著正相关;失败内部归因与人际、自我、环境行为技能呈显著正相关;成功与失败外部归因与四种行为技能呈显著负相关。社交成功的外部归因分别在不满型教师互动风格和环境、人际、自我、任务行为技能间起部分中介作用。不满型教师互动风格对成功内部归因、社会技能的预测效应显著,通过成功内部归因的中介效应不显著。     

“西部计划”志愿者服务满意度的调查研究

研究采用自编问卷对服务期满的西部志愿者就其服务的满意度进行调查。结果发现:服务初衷实现程度、服务影响力评价、服务满意度、服务态度、社会支持方面的得分性别差异不显著;政治面貌为中共党员的志愿者在服务态度和服务满意度方面得分均显著高于政治面貌为团员的志愿者;来自西部地区的志愿者在自我评价的服务初衷实现程度上的得分显著低于来自东部和中部地区的志愿者,东部和中部地区的志愿者之间则无显著差异,这种差异或源于西部地区志愿者感受到的社会支持(主观支持)低于中、东部志愿者。