Trajectories of adjustment of international students: U‐curve,learning curve,or Third Space 1

International students may need to adapt their approaches to learning and their views of themselves as learners in their new situation. The research reported on in this paper concerns a pre‐sessional English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course for international students entering Higher Education in the UK—mostly Masters students entering a Business School—having a focus on assisting change rather than addressing deficit. Theories of cultural adaptation—U‐curve and learning curve—are discussed in the light of theories of place and space taken from phenomenological geography, and of identity and ‘third space’ taken from cultural studies. The seminar—as this is understood in UK Higher Education—is described as an existential space, and reflective accounts of international students are analysed to see how these narratives both record and create their varying feelings of identifying with the epistemological requirements of seminars. The conclusions drawn are that interventions should be designed to encourage reflective learning, should accept that hybridity rather than complete acculturation is the most likely result, and that synergy—combining elements of different epistemologies—could become a target for all universities.     

Peer Led Focus Groups and Young People

Peer led focus groups, a qualitative social science research method, and their use with young people are examined. The paper outlines three developments that have contributed to their emergence, namely: traditional focus groups, peer education and participatory research. Drawing on a study in progress, the advantages and challenges associated with peer led focus groups are discussed. A key benefit is that the power differential between the adult researcher and the researched is removed, at least at the point of data collection, rendering peer led focus groups one of few research contexts in which young people can speak collectively with no adult present.     

Adopted Children's Identity and Information Needs

SUMMARY: It has long been accepted that adopted children need access to information about their origins in order to provide a satisfactory answer to the question ‘who am I?’. Such information is seen as vitally important to the formation of a clear and positive sense of identity in adulthood. This study examines the role that such information plays in the formation of personal identity and analyses accounts from 67 adopters of their children's requests for information about their families of origin. Comparisons are made between adopters whose children maintain contact with their families of origin and those whose children have no contact.     

Attitudes and Values of Scottish Farmers: “Yeoman” and “Entrepreneur” as Factors,Not Distinct Types1

Abstract We investigate the validity of the classification of farmers into two or more distinct types on the basis of attitudes, objectives, and values. Factor analysis of data from a survey of farm pluriactivity in Scotland (N=472) shows that attributes ascribed to “yeoman” and “entrepreneur” types emerge as separate factors rather than as a single bipolar factor. No clustering of the factor scores corresponding to distinct types is found. We also present correlations of the factor scores with attitudes to on- and off-farm pluriactivity and with observables such as age and off-farm employment. The desirability of analyzing survey data by methods which do not make assumptions about typology is discussed.     

The O. J. Simpson Verdict: Predictors of Beliefs about Innocence or Guilt

This study examined ethnicity and psychological predictors of beliefs in guilt and innocence in the O. J. Simpson trial. A mixed-gender, multiethnic sample of 441 college students completed measures examining trial beliefs, trial-related attitudes, ethnic identification, pro- and anti-Black attitudes, and authoritarian personality traits. Results revealed that: (1) mean differences existed among ethnic groups on all variables examined; (2) proximal attitudes mediated relations between psychological characteristics and trial outcome beliefs; and (3) specific relations depended (to some extent) on ethnic group membership. Differences within and between ethnic groups may reflect schematic differences due to differential experiences with societal institutions, identification with (or rejection of) mainstream values, and race relations in American society.     

A general maximum likelihood analysis of measurement error in generalized linear models

This paper describes an EM algorithm for maximum likelihood estimation in generalized linear models (GLMs) with continuous measurement error in the explanatory variables. The algorithm is an adaptation of that for nonparametric maximum likelihood (NPML) estimation in overdispersed GLMs described in Aitkin (Statistics and Computing 6: 251–262, 1996). The measurement error distribution can be of any specified form, though the implementation described assumes normal measurement error. Neither the reliability nor the distribution of the true score of the variables with measurement error has to be known, nor are instrumental variables or replication required.Standard errors can be obtained by omitting individual variables from the model, as in Aitkin (1996).Several examples are given, of normal and Bernoulli response variables.     

Contextual influences on personnel policies and programs: an explanatory model

There has been a general absence of research to explain why personnel policies develop in organizations. This article has two objectives: (a) development of a theoretically relevant scheme for clustering personnel policies for analytic purposes, and (b) presentation of an explanatory model suggesting how contextual influences shape these policies.     

'It's in the blood and you're not going to change it': fish harvesters' narrative accounts of injuries and disability

The purpose of this study was to validate Hanson's Learning Profile Inventory (LPI) and Teaching Style Inventory (TSI) further, and to assess the degree to which self-reported style preferences on these scales corresponded to actual observable learning and teaching style behaviors of students and teachers in differing instructional situations. No significant differences were found between the reported and observed learning and teaching style preferences of students and their instructors. Further, student and teacher classifications on the GEFT test of field independence/dependence corresponded to their classifications on the introversion/extroversion scale of the LPI and TSI further clarifying and validating this component of this scale on these two measures. This study was a formative study with a small sample (N=12) due to the burdens of observational ratings, which needs to be replicated with a confirmatory study.     

Fish harvesters with injuries' accounts of their experiences with the workers' compensation system

The workers' compensation system was established to provide fair access to compensation for workers who have experienced occupational injury and can no longer work. It was expected that such a system would reduce individual legal claims. Evidence indicates that many injured workers proceed with a variety of appeals indicating dissatisfaction with the current system. The fishing industry is extremely dangerous. The aim of this research was to explore the experience of injured fish harvesters who were making use of a compensation system. Interviews were held with a sample of injured in-shore and deep-sea fish harvesters. In general, they identified themselves strongly as hard-working people who did not deserve their injury. They also reported substantial frustration with the staff of the compensation system who they believed treated them with suspicion and disrespect. The deep-sea fish harvesters were more concerned with the amount of compensation. This dissatisfaction with the system contributed to the fish harvesters' use of the appeals procedure. The fish harvesters' complaints are discussed with reference to the concepts of distributive and procedural justice.