Emotional Regulation and Display in Classroom Victims of Bullying: Characteristic Expressions of Affect, Coping Styles and Relevant Contextual Factors

Research suggests that victims of bullying may lack skills in emotional regulation, a process which facilitates coping with provocative situations to lessen the stress of negative emotions (Cicchetti, Ackerman, & Izard, 1995). The present study examined the emotional regulation and display patterns of victims during classroom bullying episodes. Children in grades one through six were observed during free play in the winter and spring of three consecutive school years. Results of the study indicated that the coping styles observed in victims of bullying can be grouped into two distinct clusters: 1) problem-solving strategies that are associated with the de-escalation and resolution of bullying episodes; and 2) aggressive strategies that tend to perpetuate and escalate the bullying interaction. Parallels were found between victims' and bullies' emotional displays. Results are discussed in the context of how maladaptive emotional regulation processes may act as risk factors for chronic victimization.     

Interorganizational influences on the founding of african american organizations, 1955–1985

This paper examines the relationship between traditions of social action and patterns of organizational development, using data on the formation of national African American protest, advocacy, and service organizations between 1955 and 1985. Following research in organizational ecology, Poisson regression is used to examine the association between organizational density and organizational formation across strategic forms. The results provide some support for the idea that interorganizational influences are important in shaping the contours of the African American social movement industry. Outside funding, internal organizational capacities and protest levels also play a significant role.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1992 annual meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society.     

Student Veterans: Meaning in Life,Negative Career Thoughts,and Depression

Student veterans may experience challenges as they transition from military to student life, including adjusting to the academic environment, coping with mental health concerns, and redefining their identities. Research indicates that veterans may have difficulty finding meaning and purpose outside of the military (Brenner et al., 2008; Doenges, 2011). This study explored variables that may affect meaning and purpose in student veterans' lives, specifically negative career thoughts and depression. One hundred thirty-two student veterans at U.S. institutions were surveyed. The results revealed that both negative career thoughts and depression were statistically significant predictors (p < .001) of the presence of meaning in life, with 46% of the variance in the presence of meaning in life scores accounted for by participants' negative career thinking and depression levels. Pearson correlations indicated that all variables were statistically significant (p < .01). Future research could explore how other career readiness and self-assessment constructs are related to meaning and purpose in student veterans' lives, as well as the intersection of mental health and career factors. Interventions that focus both on the presence of negative career thoughts and depressive symptomatology may positively influence student veterans' report of meaning and purpose in life.     

Assessing Infection Control Measures for Pandemic Influenza

We construct a mathematical model of aerosol (i.e., droplet-nuclei) transmission of influenza within a household containing one infected and embed it into an epidemic households model in which infecteds occasionally infect someone from another household; in a companion paper, we argue that the contribution from contact transmission is trivial for influenza and the contribution from droplet transmission is likely to be small. Our model predicts that the key infection control measure is the use of N95 respirators, and that the combination of respirators, humidifiers, and ventilation reduces the threshold parameter (which dictates whether or not an epidemic breaks out) by ≈20% if 70% of households comply, and by ≈40% if 70% of households and workplaces comply (≈28% reduction would have been required to control the 1918 pandemic). However, only ≈30% of the benefits in the household are achieved if these interventions are used only after the infected develops symptoms. It is also important for people to sleep in separate bedrooms throughout the pandemic, space permitting. Surgical masks with a device (e.g., nylon hosiery) to reduce face-seal leakage are a reasonable alternative to N95 respirators if the latter are in short supply.     

Women's Labor in the Global Economy Women Make Movies Brings It All Back Home

This article does not have an abstract     

The impact of welfare reform on the parenting role of women in rural communities

Current family policy suggests that in order to restore family values we, as a society, need to focus on reviving a child-centered household. Full-time mothering is lauded as an honorable choice that will advance this goal and ultimately strengthen traditional family values. However, current welfare policy is contrary to this notion in that mandatory welfare-to-work programs deny women receiving public assistance the choice to be full-time mothers. Based on in-depth interviews with female welfare recipients in four rural Appalachian counties, this paper evaluates the problems women face as they confront the difficult choices of being either a “good mother” or a “good recipient.” From a feminist perspective, findings suggest that welfare reform programs in rural communities have put poor women in a proverbial “catch-22” with regard to effective parenting. Although many of the women strive to be ideal mothers as defined by societal standards, they often find that they cannot carry out the role effectively because of welfare reform regulations.     

Nuclear Families and Nuclear Risks: The Effects of Gender,Geography, and Progeny on Attitudes toward a Nuclear Waste Facility*

Abstract Studies of reactions to nuclear facilities have found consistent male/female differences, but the underlying reasons have never been well‐clarified. The most common expectations involve traditional roles—with men focusing more on economic concerns and with women (especially mothers) being more concerned about family safety/health. Still, with changing gender roles, women are becoming economic providers as well as caregivers; past studies have not actually examined the interaction of employment and gender effects. This study examines a rural county where issues of risk and economic interest were both salient—a county where a nuclear waste site had been proposed but where an existing nuclear power plant was a major employer. Overall, concern levels expressed by employed mothers did not differ significantly from those in the rest of the sample, but further analyses revealed a sharp contrast: In the half of the county that was home to the existing nuclear power plant, where economic concerns could be expected to be more salient, over 90 percent of the employed mothers expressed low levels of concern; in the other half of the county, closer to the potential risks of the proposed nuclear waste site, almost 90 percent of the employed mothers expressed high levels of concern. No such differences are found for other sociodemographic groups. This county may or may not be unique; what the findings show is that the interplay of geography, gender roles and risks should receive more attention in other contexts, as well.     

Polynomial estimation of eigenvalues

In estimating the eigenvalues of the covariance matrix of a multivariate normal population, the usual estimates are the eigenvalues of the sample covariance matrix. It is well known that these estimates are biased. This paper investigates obtaining improved eigenvalue estimates through improved estimates of the characteristic polynomial, which is a function of the sample eigenvalues. A numerical study investigates the improvements evaluated under both a square error and an entropy loss function.