Student Burnout and Engagement: A Test of the Conservation of Resources Theory

The current study explored predictors of burnout and engagement in 1st-year college students. The theory of conservation of resources was used to create a path model for burnout and engagement. Specifically, the theory suggests that perceptions of demands mediate the relationship between resources and coping strategies. In turn, coping mediates the relationship of demands on the outcomes of burnout and engagement. Results indicate demands partially mediated the relationship between resources and coping strategies. Similarly, coping partially mediated the relationship between demands and burnout and engagement. Results suggest that teaching students adaptive ways of coping and extinguishing maladaptive ways of coping with the academic environment can increase engagement and decrease burnout. Implications for research, theory, and practice are discussed.     

Fear of Success Imagery in the Print Media

The study aimed to assess levels of depressive symptoms and associated risk factors in a sample of students in Bogotá, Colombia. A convenient sample (N = 254) of students at the University Antonio Nariño, Bogotá was invited to complete an online survey that contained questions associated with common risk factors for depression and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). Chi-square was used to analyze comparisons between demographic and risk factors and severity of depression, and comparisons between those depressed and not depressed. Odds Ratios and their 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were computed through logistic regression model developed for each independent variable. The point-prevalence of current depressive symptoms was 36.2%; women 47.3% and men 21.3%. Risk factors associated with depression included being a woman, having a previous diagnosis, suicidal ideation and (or) intent, sleep problems, a recent loss, and a history of family depression and alcoholism. The study confirms the high incidence of depression and associated risk factors in students. The results demonstrate a need for prevention measures, early detection and early intervention.     

Validity of the V. C. Aeronautics Aptitude Test and the O. E. Scientific Aptitude Test

An hierarchical factor solution was obtained on correlations among WISC and ITPA subtests for 110 reading disabled children. The ability hierarchy which included a general (g) factor, two subgeneral factors, and five primary factors was arranged in a manner congruent with Vernon's structural paradigm. The g-factor was defined by a moderate but distinct pattern of positive loadings from WISC and ITPA subtests. At the subgeneral level a verbal-educational factor was defined by verbal WISC and ITPA subtests, and a spatial-perceptual-mechanical factor was defined by WISC performance and ITPA visual subtests. Three primary factors—freedom from distractibility, verbal precision, and quasi-specific—were defined by WISC subtests. Two primary factors—automatic processes and representational processes—were defined by ITPA subtests.     

Conditioned Reflex and Perception: The Concept of Syncretism

Delay discounting occurs when the subjective value of an outcome decreases because its delivery is delayed. Past research has shown that how steeply participants discount an outcome varies inversely with the value of previously discounted outcomes. In the present study, participants discounted the same hypothetical monetary outcome ($1,000) after their hypothetical annual income was halved (Experiment 1) or doubled (Experiment 2). Rates of discounting decreased and increased, respectively, after these manipulations (although a similar change in discounting was observed for the control and treatment groups in Experiment 2). These results suggest that altering the context in which the discounting task is framed alters the subjective value of the outcome itself, in this case money. This result has implications for understanding contrast effects that are observed in rates of discounting, as well as for researchers and practitioners who are interested in determining methods for altering how individuals discount delayed outcomes.     

The Influence of Learning in Activity Wheel Behavior

Among 4th–6th-grade students (165 girls, 150 boys) in the Netherlands, the author examined ethnic differences in two aspects of teacher-oriented academic motivation: working in order to please the teacher and dependence on the teacher for academic help. Given higher levels of power distance in Turkish and Moroccan versus Dutch culture, both measures and their correlates were compared for 132 Turkish- and Moroccan-Dutch students, and 183 ethnic Dutch students. Analyses showed that Turkish- and Moroccan-Dutch students scored higher on pleasing the teacher and dependence on the teacher. For them, but not for the ethnic Dutch students, teacher-oriented motivation was positively related to intrinsic motivation and perceived academic competence. Also, students from all groups reported more dependence on the teacher and more intrinsic motivation the more they appreciated their teachers. Results support the notion that teacher-oriented extrinsic motivation is autonomous, rather than controlled for students from power-distant cultures.     

Predicting mothers' reports of children's mental health three years after Hurricane Katrina

This study explored pathways through which hurricane-related stressors affected the psychological functioning of elementary school aged children who survived Hurricane Katrina. Participants included 184 mothers from the New Orleans area who completed assessments one year pre-disaster (Time 1), and one and three years post-disaster (Time 2 and Time 3, respectively). Mothers rated their children's behavior problems at Time 3 only (n = 251 children; 53.0% male; mean age: 10.19 years, SD = 1.68 years). A path analytic model indicated that hurricane-related stressors were associated with increased maternal psychological distress and school mobility in the first post-disaster year, which were associated with higher child internalizing and externalizing symptoms three years post-disaster. Mediation analysis indicated that hurricane-related stressors were associated with child symptoms indirectly, through their impact on maternal psychological distress. Findings underscore the importance of interventions that boost maternal and child mental health and support children through post-disaster school transitions.     

Assessing and Facilitating School Readiness for Microcomputers

Microcomputers represent a complex educational innovation requiring a planned change approach to program implementation. In this paper, the AVICTORY approach, a framework for assessing organizational readiness for microcomputers, is delineated. A case illustration is presented to demonstrate the relevance of the approach and a strategy for operationalizing and measuring organizational readiness is provided. Activities which may facilitate school readiness for microcomputers are also discussed.     

What to expect from the future leaders of Bogotá and Curitiba in terms of public transport: Opinions and practices among university students

Only a minority of young people in developing countries goes to university. Those who do will probably be the future leaders of their society. Bogotá and Curitiba are known worldwide for their public transport systems based on buses, which introduced unprecedented quality standards for transport in the developing world. But these systems depend on continuous technical improvements and, in particular, backing from political leaders as they compete with other modes of transport for infrastructure and funding. This is especially critical in societies experiencing rapid growth in personal motorized transport, such as Brazil and Colombia. This paper analyses the opinions of university students in Bogotá and Curitiba about their famous public transport systems, and compares their opinions with their current mobility practices. The aim was to shed light on the challenges concerning the future status of public transport the two cities are likely to face, which to a certain extend can be considered a forewarning for other cities in developing nations.