In search of correlates of learning underlying “learning disability” using a bio-ecological assessment system

A valid and consistent diagnosis of learning disability is constrained by many conceptual and methodological challenges. Chief among them is the lack of diagnostic efficiency of standardized tests to shed much light on the nature and quality of the “potential disability” underlying children's very poor academic achievement. In this paper, we make the point that any assessment measure of learning difficulty should do more than merely identify or confirm the presence of a problem. Rather, assessment in the service of learning should identify learning needs at a sufficient level of detail so as to inform adaptive pedagogical planning and intervention. Toward this end, a discussion of theoretical and empirical research on the correlates of learning from a sociocultural perspective is examined that provides the conceptual basis for a proposed bio-ecological assessment system. The components of the system are delineated and its feasibility explored in order to provide a richer source of information beyond what is possible with current standardized tests.     

National Networks of Corporate Power: An Irish Perspective

This paper maps the network of interlocking directorships formed by the boards of the top 50 financial and 200 non-financial companies in Ireland. The Irish network is compared with those in ten countries, based on the same sample size and selection criteria as used in this paper, using the methods and theory of Social Network Analysis (SNA). Fundamental to the paper is the idea that the network of interlocking directorates is in some way structured, and not the result of random processes.Irish boards were found to have a relatively loosely connected network structure which is sparser and less dense than those of other countries. This is reflected in the relatively low percentage of multiple directors and the relatively fewer number of directorships per multiple director.In general, indigenous Irish public companies tended to be central in the network, while a disproportionately large number of foreign and private companies were isolated on the periphery. However, a number of foreign-owned companies were central to the network -- in particular, those which started as indigenous Irish companies which were subsequently taken over.When account is taken of the nature of the Irish economy and business, in comparison with that of the ten other countries, it is seen that the opportunities for company interlinking at board level in Ireland are relatively fewer. However, within these constraints, there is a thriving network of corporate power in Ireland.     

Kinship Support,Family Relations,and Psychological Adjustment Among Low‐Income African American Mothers and Adolescents

The association of kin social support with mothers' adjustment and family relations was assessed among 204 African American mothers and adolescents who were on average 14.45 years of age. Also examined was the association of mothers' adjustment with family relations and adolescents' adjustment. Findings revealed that kin social and emotional support was positively associated with mothers' optimism. Poor relations with kin were positively associated with mothers' depression. Kin advice and counseling and kin social and emotional support were positively linked to family routine. Poor relations with kin were positively associated with parent/adolescent communication problems. Mothers' optimism was positively associated with family routine and mediated the association of kin social and emotional support with family routine. Parent/adolescent communication problems were positively associated with adolescents' depression. The findings were discussed in light of their support for theoretical and empirical work on family processes among poor African American families.     

A history of intellectuals and the demise of the new class: Academics and the U.S. government in the 1960s

Theory and Society -     

Book Review: Compassion in Human Nature

Book reviewed in this article:
R. J. Davidson and A. Harrington (eds.), Visions of Compassion: Western Scientists and Tibetan Buddhists Examine Human Nature     

Elder abuse and neglect among veterans in Greater Los Angeles: prevalence, types, and intervention outcomes

This study examined the prevalence, types, and intervention outcomes of elder abuse/neglect among a veteran population. A review of medical records of 575 veterans who had received services from the Veteran's Affairs Geriatric Outpatient Clinic in Los Angeles during a three-year period found 31 veterans (5.4%) who had an elder abuse report filed on their behalf. Prevalence of elder abuse/neglect was higher among older (80+) and Caucasian and African American veterans. Eight of 31 victims suffered from more than one type of elder abuse including self-neglect. Financial abuse and self-neglect were the most commonly reported types. Family members were perpetrators in the majority of the cases, excluding self-neglect. However, three-quarters of financial abuse cases were committed by non-family members. Almost one-half of the victims had dementia and eight were clinically depressed. The most common intervention was to move victims from their unsafe home into a nursing home or board and care facility, followed by conservatorship arrangement. These interventions were most frequently used for victims with dementia, and conservatorship was often arranged with another type of intervention, such as a move to a nursing home. Victims who remained at home received conservatorship or outside supportive services or a combination of both. This study calls for more comprehensive and systematic research on elder abuse/neglect at multi-settings in order to generate useful information for prevention and detection of, and effective intervention in elder abuse and neglect in the veteran population.     

Casual sex on spring break: Intentions and behaviors of canadian students

Using Triandis's theory of interpersonal behavior, we analyzed factors related to casual sex among Canadian university students on a spring break vacation. Two samples were obtained: 151 students completed a questionnaire before a spring break trip to Daytona Beach, Florida and 681 completed a questionnaire during or immediately following the vacation. More men than women intended to have casual sex but similar percentages of men (15%) and women (13%) had actually engaged in casual sex. In ordinary least squares regression, expectation of participation in spring break activities, social norms expressed through peer group influences, and personal attitudes explained 74% of the variance in the intentions to engage in casual sex. In logistic regression, intentions and participation in spring break activities correctly classified 80% of the men into those who did and did not engage in casual sex. Agreements formed with friends about casual sex and the proportion of friends who participated in coitus on spring break correctly classified 88% of women.