Number Use at Home by Children and Their Parents and Its Relationship to Early Mathematical Performance

The purpose of this research was to measure the frequency and variety of number activities occurring in the homes of pre-school and kindergarten children and to determine if there was a relationship between those activities and the children's mathematical performance. In two studies, parents were interviewed over the telephone and asked how often their child or they and their child had engaged in each of 33 number-related activities over the last week. Both studies found considerable variability in the frequency and type of number activities that children participated in at home. There was a positive correlation between the frequency of number activities that parents reported for their children and parental participation in the same activities. In addition, in study 2, parental reports of children's number activities at home were predictive of children's performance on a standardized test of early mathematical ability.     

大学生的职业自我概念清晰度与抑郁的关系:性别与性别平等观的调节作用

尽管抑郁的影响因素得到了比较多的探讨,但是鲜有研究探讨职业自我概念清晰度与抑郁的关系以及性别和性别平等观在其中的作用。根据生涯发展理论和自我差异理论,本研究探讨了大学生职业自我概念清晰度与大学生抑郁的关系,并考察了性别和性别平等观在二者关系之间的调节作用。通过对463份大学生的数据进行实证分析发现：（1）职业自我概念清晰度与大学生抑郁负相关;（2）职业自我概念清晰度与抑郁的关系存在显著的性别差异;（3）职业自我概念清晰度、性别和性别平等观对大学生抑郁存在三重交互作用。当个体持有高性别平等观时,男性和女性的职业自我概念清晰度都与抑郁负相关。当个体的性别平等观较低时,女性的职业自我概念清晰度与抑郁正相关。研究结果对于大学生的职业发展和心理健康教育具有重要实践意义。     

Leisure activities,caregiving demands and catecholamine levels in dementia caregivers

This study examined whether satisfaction from leisure activities moderates the relationship between caregiving demands (i.e., hours per day spent caring for a spouse with dementia) and resting levels of the catecholamines norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (EPI). Spousal caregivers (n?=?107; mean age?=?73.95?±?8.12 years) were assessed in home for plasma levels of NE and EPI, amount of care provided, and leisure satisfaction. Regression was used to determine whether leisure satisfaction moderated the relationship between hours providing care per day and catecholamine levels. A significant interaction was found between hours caregiving and leisure satisfaction for NE, but not for EPI. Post hoc regressions were conducted for both NE and EPI. At low leisure satisfaction, time spent caring for a spouse was positively associated with plasma NE (β?=?0.41; p?=?0.005) and EPI (β?=?0.44; p?=?0.003). In contrast, at high levels of satisfaction, time caregiving was not significantly associated with plasma NE (β?=?–0.08; p?=?0.57) or EPI (β?=?0.23; p?=?0.12). These findings suggest that leisure satisfaction may protect caregivers from increases in catecholamines, which have been implicated in cardiovascular risk. Further support for these findings may impact psychological treatments for distressed caregivers.     

Between the Horns: A Dilemma in the Interpretation of the Running of the Bulls – Part 1: The Confrontation

The essay, divided in two parts, examines the event of the running of the bulls (encierro in Spanish). The phenomenon of the encierro, a complex cultural activity of deep historical roots, demands to be understood: What drives people to risk injury or death at the horns of untamed bulls? How should we make sense of this, subjective and objectively? To answer these questions, I use a framework that relies on explanation and assessment of popular views on the way to arguing for a philosophical alternative. This arrangement is readily adaptable to many other sporting (and non-sporting) activities where risk and/or mass participation are key factors. Its unorthodox format – organised around an opening narrative of a paradigmatic, skilled and lucky run with the bulls, as well as hors texte (direct appeals to the reader) – brings the reader straight into the fray, philosophical and otherwise. Part I begins by presenting the history of the encierro. It also explains the dynamics of the event, often via images with pedagogical and critical side-commentaries. It proceeds to introduce and critically engage with prevalent explanations, most with ethnological tendencies, that conceive the running as tradition, rite, ritual and sport. This part ends with a dilemma whereby we either try to explain matters by resorting to particular and partial interpretations, or a ‘democratic’ conglomerate of superficial and confusing boundaries, or in the end we simply concede our inability to understand the phenomenon of the running of the bulls in toto. This philosophical impasse will be evaded in part 2 (Sport, Ethics and Philosophy 2, 1) via existentialist and phenomenological analysis.     

Extracurricular activities in young applicants’ résumés: What are the motives behind their involvement?

Applicants use résumés to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, abilities, and other personal characteristics (KSAOs) to recruiters, through education and job‐related or non‐job‐related experiences. But research suggests that the situation for young applicants is especially competitive, since they increasingly enter the labour market with similar educational credentials and limited job‐related experience. They may thus use non‐job‐related experiences, such as participation in extracurricular activities (ECAs) during their studies, to demonstrate KSAOs to recruiters, but also to add distinction and value to their credentials. ECAs may therefore become more important in the selection of young applicants. Yet few studies have undertaken a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the relationships students have with these activities. The purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent students’ involvement in ECAs is due to internal (e.g., passion) or external (e.g., résumé‐building) motives, and what factors influence these motives. Results from a study with 197 students suggest that students engage in ECAs mainly out of internal motives. But external motives are stronger for activities started closer to entering the labour market, for students active in associative or volunteering activities (as compared to sports or artistic activities), and for students holding leadership positions in their activities. Our results suggest that labour market pressure may be a key component of applicants’ involvement in ECAs. Also, organizations and recruiters may want to consider that students tend not to engage in ECAs purely out of internal motives, but also to add value to their credentials and match employers’ expectations.     

Occupational Therapists' Experience Concerning Occupational Performance in Adults With Asperger Syndrome

Persons with Asperger Syndrome often seem to have difficulty performing everyday occupations. This study aimed to describe occupational therapists' experience concerning abilities to occupational performance among adults with Asperger Syndrome. Data were collected in interviews with eight occupational therapists and analyzed using a qualitative method. Results showed that clients with Asperger Syndrome often possess abilities but seem to have difficulties knowing when, where, and how they should use them. The ability to adapt behavior in accordance with cues from the environment was identified as the core category. Environment plays a major role in how these persons interact in different situations.     

Gender,Racial, and Ethnic Differences in Job Context and Work-Activity Preferences

This study explores the effect of social norms in a military situation at the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy. During the wintertime, standing on a wharf, officers were given the offer of jumping into the ocean or not. In the experiment (n?=?75), having an antijump norm induced by a confederate, the jump rate decreased from 76% to 51%. One implication of these findings is that the salience of one norm is a deciding factor when individuals have several conflicting norms.     

Interaction between mode of learning and subjective experience: Translation effects in long-term memory

It has been suggested that writing auditorily presented words at encoding involves distinctive translation processes between visual and auditory domains, leading to the formation of distinctive memory traces at retrieval. This translation effect leads to higher levels of recognition than the writing of visually presented words, a non-translation effect. The present research investigated whether writing and the other translation effect of vocalisation (vocalising visually presented words) would be present in tests of recall, recognition memory and whether these effects are based on the subjective experience of remembering or knowing. Experiment 1 found a translation effect in the auditory domain in recall, as the translation effect of writing yielded higher recall than both non-translation effects of vocalisation and silently hearing. Experiment 2 found a translation effect in the visual domain in recognition, as the translation effect of vocalisation yielded higher recognition than both non-translation effects of writing and silently reading. This translation effect was attributable to the subjective experience of remembering rather than knowing. The present research therefore demonstrates the beneficial effect of translation in both recall and recognition, with the effect of vocalisation in recognition being based on rich episodic remembering.