Authorship and Publication Practices in the Social Sciences: Historical Reflections on Current Practices

An historical review of authorship definitions and publication practices that are embedded in directions to authors and in the codes of ethics in the fields of psychology, sociology, and education illuminates reasonable agreement and consistency across the fields with regard to (a) originality of the work submitted, (b) data sharing, (c) human participants’ protection, and (d) conflict of interest disclosure. However, the role of the professional association in addressing violations of research or publication practices varies among these fields. Psychology and sociology provide active oversight with sanction authority. In education, the association assumes a more limited role: to develop and communicate standards to evoke voluntary compliance. With respect to authorship credit, each association’s standards focus on criteria for inclusion as an author, other than on the author’s ability to defend and willingness to take responsibility for the entire work. Discussions across a broad range of research disciplines beyond the social sciences would likely be beneficial. Whether improved standards will reduce either misattribution or perceptions of inappropriate attribution of credit within social science disciplines will likely depend on how well authorship issues are addressed in responsible conduct of research education (RCR), in research practice, and in each association’s ongoing efforts to influence normative practice by specifying and clarifying best practices.     

Gender differences in social support among older adults

The purpose of this study was to determine whether exposure to life stress can help explain gender differences in the use of social support. Findings from a longitudinal study suggest that as the number of stressful life events increase, elderly men and women are equally likely to become more involved in their social network, while gender differences emerge only in response to chronic financial strain. Further analysis indicates that elderly women are more likely than elderly men to report that the support they received increased their feelings of personal control.     

Is there an Effect of Print Exposure on the Word Frequency Effect and the Neighborhood Size Effect?

Orthographic and phonological processing skills have been shown to vary as a function of reader skill (Stanovich & West, Reading Research Quarterly, 24, 402-433, 1989; Unsworth & Pexman, Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 56A, 63-81, 2003). One variable known to contribute to differences between readers of higher and lower skill is amount of print exposure: higher skilled readers read more often than lower skilled readers, and their increased print exposure is associated with faster responding to words and nonwords in lexical decision tasks. The present experiments examined the effect of print exposure on the word frequency effect and neighborhood size effect. We conclude that the different outcomes reported in previous studies (Chateau & Jared, Memory and Cognition, 28, 143-153, 2000; Lewellen, Goldinger, Pisoni, & Greene, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 122, 316-330, 1993) were due to the type of nonwords used in the lexical decision task (regular nonwords versus pseudohomophones). Our results are explained in terms of differences in the reliance on orthographic and phonological information between readers of higher and lower print exposure.     

Globalization,Redemption, and the Dialectics of Courage

This essay explores forms of religious narrative that shape self-understanding and engagement with the world through the idea of redemption. An analysis of the landscape of religious perspectives within the context of globalization shows a bifurcation between competing notions of redemption in fundamentalist and postmodern narratives. Where fundamentalism uses meta-narrative that is hyper-theistic, postmodernism uses contextual narratives that deconstruct narrative and can lose a sense of the transcendent. The purpose of the essay is to show how these two competing notions can become entrenched and destructive to the very redemption they seek. Using Paul Tillich’s understanding of courage, these positions are placed into a dialectical tension that points to a third understanding of redemption as the perpetual mediation between the desire for belonging to a community and the desire to recognize the limitations of any individual or community’s perspective and understanding of the world in relationship to the holy.     

Tedium Vitae: Or, My Life as a 'Net Serf'

Boredom, like pain, is a subjective experience, but while the sources of pain can be either internal or external to the subject, the causes of boredom are always external. Understanding boredom as a reaction to external influences requires inquiries into the subjective awareness of boredom and into the social and cultural conditions giving rise to boredom. After briefly investigating these areas, I suggest that in the past boredom was seen as a necessary ingredient to creative inspiration and self-understanding, and as a contributor to autonomy in judgment and taste. I argue for a new form of boredom seen only with recent advances in information technology. Increasingly, individuals spend their work hours involved in electronic mail and on-line information interaction. The attempt to match the speed and capacity of information technology results in restricted modes of behaviour and cognitive saturation. As a consequence, one is aware of one's boredom but no cognitive capacity remains to consider realms outside the immediate moment. I conclude with the suggestion that the boredom that accompanies involvement in information technology produces a self-identity crafted by technological intervention and fashion, yields the false autonomy of a manipulated consumer, and invites superficial social relations.     

Breeding cycle aggression in domesticated zebra finches (Poephila guttata)

Patterns of breeding cycle aggressive behavior were examined in colonies of domesticated zebra finches (Poephila guttata). Aggressive behaviors of zebra finch pairs were low during non-nesting periods but were maintained at high levels during the three nesting periods: the incubating, hatching, and nestling periods. Defense of the nest site was the prominent functional category of aggression, followed by defense of individual distance. Defense of mate, defense of young, and defense of nesting material rarely occurred. Male and female members of pair bonds shared the duties of defense of the nest site and parental care. During observation times males exhibited greater frequencies of aggressive actions throughout the breeding cycle and females spent a greater amount of time in the nest during the three nesting periods. The pattern and functional categories of aggressive behavior in the zebra finch colonies correspond most closely to the nest site defense hypothesis for the evolution of breeding season aggression.     

Effect of a spiritual retreat on perceived stress of Nigerian Catholic immigrant sisters in the United States

Stress among immigrants may be due to loss of familiar environment and experience of discrimination. Spiritual retreats may be one way to manage stressful life situations. The present study examined whether participation in a six-day spiritual retreat results in changes in perceived stress and whether changes in perceived stress depend on participant’s demographic characteristics. A total of 88 Nigerian Catholic immigrant sisters completed the Perceived Stress questionnaire pre-retreat, day three, and immediately after a spiritual retreat. Friedman Two-way ANOVA by rank was used to determine if there are mean changes in perceived stress over the three-time period, while Kruskal–Wallis ANOVA was used to determine if there were demographic differences in perceived stress. There were no differences in perceived stress at baseline, but there was a significant reduction in perceived stress at Time 2 and 3. There were no differences in perceived stress for the demographic variables except age.     

Discriminatory Experiences and Depressive Symptoms among African American Women: Do Skin Tone and Mastery Matter?

We apply structural equation modeling techniques to data from the National Survey of American Life to investigate the relationship between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms among African American women ages 18-98 years (N=2,299). In addition, we evaluate whether or not personal mastery accounts for the intensity of African American women's psychological response to discrimination and whether or not exposure to discrimination varies by skin complexion. Findings reveal that discrimination is a major threat to African American women's mental health. They are vulnerable to discrimination, in part, because discrimination undermines their beliefs in mastery making them less psychologically resilient. Experiences of discrimination do not differ by complexion. We conclude that complexion does not matter, but mastery does.