Knowing in advance: the impact of prior event information on memory and event knowledge

We examined the influence of newly acquired information on children's memory and general representation of a personally experienced event. Thirty-five children between the ages of 5 and 7 years participated in the novel event (Visiting the Pirate). The day before participating, children were: (1) provided with new information specific to the up-coming event; (2) engaged in a discussion generally related to the event topic based on existing knowledge; or (3) discussed an unrelated topic. Advance information specific to the event led to better recall and, in particular, to better integration of the experience into a general event representation both soon after the event and at a follow-up interview 4 months later, whereas general discussion of the topic without the event specific information neither enhanced memory reports nor facilitated the integration of event information. Providing information in advance can have significant effects on memory and knowledge acquisition although many variables, including those relating to the specific content of the information, will affect this relation.     

Emancipatory responses to oppression: the template of land-use planning and the Old Order Amish of Ontario

In this paper I discuss the clash of values between the Old Order Amish community of Ontario and the dominant social paradigm in agriculture. Land-use and agricultural regulations, designed for an industrial style of agriculture, are experienced as a threat to the survival of the Old Order Amish agricultural social economy and community. The paper describes how I have worked with the Old Order Amish to respond to these challenges and to create public policies that will allow them to maintain their human and agricultural diversity and small-scale sustainable farm practices. Four case studies illuminating the oppressive land-use regulations along with the emancipatory responses to the oppression are examined. The social transformation themes include principles and processes for community psychologists, land-use planners, and community economic development practitioners to consider. The article has heuristic value for a practice-based approach to social change.     

The Mpowerment Project: community-building with young gay and bisexual men to prevent HIV1

The Mpowerment Project is a community-level HIV prevention intervention for young gay and bisexual men ages 18–27. The program seeks to build a strong, supportive young gay and bisexual men's community where young gay and bisexual men nurture and protect each other, particularly with regard to HIV prevention. The program's theoretical framework draws from the areas of diffusion of innovations, community organizing, peer influence, and personal empowerment. The Mpowerment Project promotes a norm for safer sex through a variety of social, outreach and small group activities. The project is run by a Core Group of 12–15 young gay and bisexual men who, with volunteers, design and carry out all project activities. Implemented in 4 communities (Eugene, OR; Santa Barbara, CA; Albuquerque, NM; Austin, TX), the Mpowerment Project has proven to be effective in reducing high risk sex. This paper discusses the development and implementation of the program and various challenges encountered.     

Children Exposed to Community Violence: The Rationale for Early Intervention

Children are exposed to violence in their homes and communities at extraordinarily high rates. Given the alarming rates of exposure and its known impact on child developmental outcomes, crisis intervention geared at interrupting the negative effects of violence exposure are increasingly important. This review provides a rationale for the implementation of early and crisis intervention strategies for children exposed to community violence and recommends principles for applying these interventions. These principles are based on the body of research concerning risk and protective factors for children who have been exposed to violence. Relevant factors are reviewed and recommended principles are explicated that correlate to these factors. Issues concerning developmentally informed crisis intervention, support of parental executive functioning, and the need for active community partnership to help ameliorate risk factors are highlighted.     

Consequences of Children's Exposure to Community Violence

Much has been learned over the past decade about the way children respond to experiences of violence in their community. The goal of this paper is to review what is known about the effects of community violence on children's development. In addition to main effects, factors that mediate these effects, as well as factors that moderate children's response to community violence are discussed. Special attention is paid to developmental differences in children's responses to community violence and the factors that may promote resilient functioning.     

Ethics and engineering courses at Delft University of Technology: Contents, educational setup and experiences

This article reports on the development and teaching of compulsory courses on ethics and engineering at Delft University of Technology (DUT). Attention is paid to the teaching goals, the educational setup and methods, the contents of the courses, involvement of staff from engineering schools, experiences to date, and challenges for the future. The choices made with respect to the development and teaching of the courses are placed within the European and Dutch context and are compared and contrasted with the American situation and experiences. Previous versions of this article were presented at the meeting of the SEFI Working Group on Engineering Ethics in Rzeszow, Poland, April 29–May 1, 1999 and at the SEFI Annual Conference in Zurich, Switzerland, September 1–3, 1999.     

Examining the effectiveness of a community-based self-help program to increase women's readiness for smoking cessation

This study investigated the effectiveness of two components of a smoking cessation intervention: a reading manual and a series of televised programs. Female smokers in the Chicago metropolitan area with a high school education or less were interviewed at 4 different times: baseline, immediate postintervention, and 6 and 12 months. We examined the effects of several baseline measures (race, age, number of cigarettes smoked, and stage of readiness to change) and exposure to the intervention components on subsequent stage of change. Race, baseline smoking rate, baseline stage, and exposure to both intervention components had direct effects on stage at immediate postintervention, with both intervention components increasing readiness to quit. Furthermore, exposure to the manual interacted with baseline stage, such that the manual benefited women at earlier stages more than women at later stages. Effects of both components were sustained at 6 months, and the effects of the manual were sustained at 12 months.     

Influences of Marital Conflict on Child Adjustment: Review of Theory and Research

This review summarizes the literature on the relationship between marital conflict and child maladjustment with an emphasis on variables that qualify, explain the association, or both. Following a historical review, the modest findings on the strength of the association between marital conflict and child maladjustment is explored. The definition of marital conflict is clarified through specification of its various dimensions (frequency, intensity, content, resolution). The role of variables that serve to moderate and/or mediate the relationship between marital conflict and child maladjustment are elaborated. Mediating models include exposure theories (Modeling, Cognitive–Contextual effects: appraisal of threat and blame, and Emotional Insecurity) and changes in the parent–child relationship (Spillover). Variables that moderate or qualify the relationship include children's cognitions and behaviors, contextual factors, and demographic differences. A model is presented summarizing these mechanisms. Research recommendations are proposed and the clinical implications of this literature are addressed.     

Educational Expectations and School Achievement of Urban African American Children

The mechanisms used to convey parents' and teachers' educational expectations for the academic achievement of low-income African American children were explored using data from the Chicago Longitudinal Study. A total of 712 children were studied. A model of mediated effects was used to test the processes of influence from parents' and teachers' expectations to sixth-grade outcomes. Children's perceptions of expectations were hypothesized to mediate the effect of expectations to school outcomes. Study findings revealed that these perceptions only partially mediated the effects of expectations to sixth-grade reading and math outcomes, yet added unique independent variance to these outcomes. Prior achievement emerged as a powerful mediator of the effects of early educational intervention and sociodemographic variables to sixth-grade outcomes. These findings suggest a need to further investigate the processes of communicating parent and teacher expectations.     

Self-Efficacy as a Mediator of Caregiver Coping: Development and Testing of an Assessment Model

Development and utilization of two self-efficacy measures thought to be relevant to stressed family caregivers, Caregiver Self-Care Self-Efficacy and Caregiver Problem-Solving Self-Efficacy, are described. Data obtained in the context of a psychoeducational intervention program are available for 217 caregivers of frail and/or cognitively impaired elders. Analyses of psychometric properties of the efficacy measures demonstrate good internal consistency and test-retest reliability for both measures. In addition, both measures of self-efficacy are related to depression as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory and caregiver distress as measured by the Zarit Burden Scale. Problem-Solving Self-efficacy also is related to subjective caregiver burden as measured by Zarit's Memory and Behavior Problem Checklist. Results are promising in terms of the utility of the measure and the application of self-efficacy theory to the caregiving situation. Limitations of these measures are discussed and suggestions made for improved second-generation self-efficacy scales.