Characteristics of effective summer learning programs in practice

The Center for Summer Learning examined various summer program models and found that there are nine characteristics that provide a framework for effective summer programs. In this chapter, the authors demonstrate how effective practices lead to positive results for young people. The nine characteristics of effective summer learning programs are (1) accelerating learning, (2) youth development, (3) proactive approach to summer learning, (4) leadership, (5) advanced planning, (6) staff development, (7) strategic partnerships, (8) evaluation and commitment to program improvement, and (9) sustainability and cost-effectiveness. These characteristics are divided into two sections. The first three characteristics address a program's approach to learning. Summer instructional techniques are most effective when academic learning is woven into enrichment activities and youth development. The second section covers program infrastructure to ensure the organization achieves and maintains quality programming. The nine characteristics complement each other to ensure a strong program that works to prevent summer learning loss and narrow the achievement gap. To demonstrate the variety of high-quality programs that include the nine characteristics, thirteen program profiles at the conclusion of the chapter each highlight one of the characteristics. These profiles show the various approaches that different summer programs have developed to accelerate academic achievement and promote positive development for young people in their communities.     

Age, ethnicity, and use of complementary and alternative medicine in health self-management

Drawing on models of health self-management, we develop hypotheses that age and ethnicity will modify associations among indicators ofpoor health and use of complementary and alternative medicine. These hypotheses are evaluated using the 2002 National Health Interview Survey with the Alternative Health Supplement. Results produced partial support for hypotheses that the effects of ailments on use of complementary and alternative medicine differ by age. Results suggest that ailments such as bodily pain, chronic conditions, and functional impairment are associated with use of complementary and alternative medicine among midlife and younger adults, but these associations are generally attenuated among older adults. Hypothesized ethnic differences received weak support. These findings suggest that different interpretations of ailments and appropriate responses may explain why complementary and alternative medicine is used by fewer older adults. The results also highlight the significance of social and cultural factors in understanding patterns of complementary and alternative medicine use in the adult population.     

Maculate Conceptions: Power,Process, and Creativity in Participatory Research

Justifiably concerned about power dynamics between researchers and participants in participatory research, much of the literature proposes guidelines for including participant voices at every step of the research process. We find these guidelines insufficient for dealing with constraints set up by the social organizational structures in which researchers and participants find themselves. We argue that the process of building relationships between scientists and farmers is unavoidably imperfect, but nonetheless necessary and rewarding. We contend that the potential problems of participatory research originate more from the social organizational structures in which it takes place than in failure to follow particular rules. By acknowledging these structures and the resultant interests of participant and researcher we can make room for the messy reality of negotiating participatory relationships. We suggest that transformative engagement can be born of what we term the “maculate conceptions” of dialogic process and the building of mutual trust.     

Intraindividual and Interindividual Differences in Spontaneous Eye Blinking: Relationships to Working Memory Performance and Frontal EEG Asymmetry

The rate and timing of spontaneous eye blinking (SB) may be used to explore mechanisms of cognitive activity in infancy. In particular, SB rate is believed to reflect some dimensions of dopamine function; therefore, we hypothesized that SB rate would relate to working memory performance and to frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry. Forty, 10‐month‐old infants completed an A‐not‐B task while SB and EEG were measured throughout. We found that SB rate varied across phases of the task, variability in SB rate was positively related to working memory performance, and frontal EEG asymmetry was related to individual differences in the rate of SB. Results provide indirect, but convergent support for the hypothesis that SB rate reflects dopamine function early in human development. As such, these results have implications for understanding the tonic and phasic effects of dopamine on cognitive activity early in human development.     

Sexualization and Gamer Avatar Selection in League of Legends

To replicate and expand Reinhard’s 2009 study of video game avatar selection in gamers, a survey was developed that asked 282 respondents to select between sets of video game characters. In each pair of characters, different levels of sexualization were displayed, and respondents had the choice between a more sexualized avatar or a less sexualized avatar. When presented with a choice between a subtly sexualized avatar and an overtly sexualized avatar, the overtly sexualized avatar was chosen. However, in nearly every case, when presented with a choice between a hypersexualized avatar and a less sexualized avatar, the less sexualized avatar was chosen. This seems to indicate that character sexualization reaches a point of diminishing returns for gamers and there is such a thing as too much sexualization in video games.     

Co-production: towards a utopian approach

This article outlines how co-production might be understood as a utopian method, which both attends to and works against dominant inequalities. It suggests that it might be positioned ‘within, against, and beyond’ current configurations of power in academia and society more broadly. It develops this argument by drawing on recent research funded through the UK’s Connected Communities programme, led by the Arts and Humanities Research Council; and by attending to arguments from the field of Utopian Studies. It explores particular issues of power and control within the field of co-production, acknowledging that neoliberalism both constrains and co-opts such practice; and explores methodological and infrastructural issues such that its utopian potential might be realised.     

When,If, and How: Young Women Contend With Orgasmic Absence

While cultural ideas about “healthy” and “fulfilling” sexuality often include orgasm, many young women do not experience orgasm during partnered sex. The current study examined how women described this absence of orgasm in their sexual experiences with male partners. We examined interviews (N = 17) with women ages 18 to 28 and focused on their ideas about orgasm and their explanations concerning when and why they do not orgasm. We explored three themes that illustrate the strategies young women use to contend with orgasmic absence: (1) What’s the big deal?; (2) It’s just biology; and (3) Not now, but someday. We found that young women’s explanations allowed them to reduce feelings of abnormality and enabled them to distance themselves from sexual expectations regarding the perceived value of orgasm. In analyzing the complicated gender and sexual dynamics surrounding orgasm, we turned to Fahs’ (2014) work on sexual freedom and the importance of articulating freedom from sexual obligations as a key intervention in critical sexuality research. In our discussion, we examine the implications of our findings for critical researchers looking to better understand the role of sexual norms in how young women imagine and discuss the role of pleasure in their own sexual lives.