Unraveling the Source of African American Children's Positively Biased Perceptions of Peer Acceptance

The present study investigated possible ethnic contributions to overly positive self‐perceptions in middle childhood. The goals of this study were threefold. First, the present study sought to replicate the intriguing findings reported by Zakriski and Coie that African American children overestimate their acceptance, and European American children underestimate acceptance by other‐ethnicity peers. Second, this study examined possible explanations for ethnic differences in the pattern of perceptual bias. Finally, this study extended prior research by examining ethnic differences in the accuracy of children's perceived peer acceptance. Archival data consisting of 826 children in third (N = 284), fourth (N = 241), and fifth grades (N = 301) were used in the present investigation; 237 of which were African American children, and 589 were European American children. Results of this study replicated the findings of Zakriski and Coie . Moreover, African Americans' overestimation and European Americans' underestimation of acceptance by other‐ethnicity peers was found to be attributable to more positive views of self and others among African American children relative to European American children. Finally, children were found to be more accurate about judging their acceptance by peers of the same ethnicity than those of a different ethnicity. Possible explanations of what causes African American children to have more positive views of self and others than European American children are discussed.     

Sexual behavior and responsiveness to sexual stimuli following laboratory‐induced sexual arousal

Sexual excitement can be seen as an action disposition. In this study sexual arousal was expected to generate sexual action and to increase interest and responsiveness to sexual stimuli. In two experiments, male and female participants were exposed to a neutral or a sexual film. We measured genital and subjective responses to the film, and sexual behavior following the laboratory visit. In Experiment 2, film exposure was followed by a task in which participants rated the sexual arousability of neutral and sexual pictures. Rating time of the sexual pictures served as an index for sexual interest. Responsiveness to the sexual pictures was measured by modulation of spinal tendinous (T) reflexes. Sexual activity, but not sexual desire, was higher for participants in the sexual film condition than for participants in the neutral condition. Sexual interest and responsiveness to still pictures were not higher for participants in the sexual film condition than for those in the neutral film condition. In addition, men who saw the neutral film showed a greater responsiveness to still pictures than men who saw the sexual film. The results support the view of sexual arousal as an emotional state generating action tendencies and actual sexual behavior.     

Residential exposure to air toxics is linked to lower grade point averages among school children in El Paso,Texas, USA

Children in low-income neighborhoods tend to be disproportionately exposed to environmental toxicants. This is cause for concern because exposure to environmental toxicants negatively affects health, which can impair academic success. To date, it is unknown if associations between air toxics and academic performance found in previous school-level studies persist when studying individual children. In pairing the National Air Toxics Assessment risk estimates for respiratory and diesel particulate matter risk disaggregated by source, with individual-level data collected through a mail survey, this paper examines the effects of exposure to residential environmental toxics on academic performance for individual children for the first time and adjusts for school-level effects using generalized estimating equations. We find that higher levels of residential air toxics, especially those from non-road mobile sources, are statistically significantly associated with lower grade point averages among fourth- and fifth-grade school children in El Paso (Texas, USA).     

Environmental Justice Is a Social Justice Issue: Incorporating Environmental Justice Into Social Work Practice Curricula

Social justice education for social work practice is concerned with addressing issues of power and oppression as they impact intersections of identity, experience, and the social environment. However, little focus is directed toward the physical and natural environment despite overwhelming evidence that traditionally marginalized groups bear the burden of environmental problems. In this article, we discuss environmental disaster impacts on marginalized communities, presence of environmental justice in social work literature, and opportunities for integrating environmental justice into social work’s mandated disciplinary competencies. We conclude with an example of a module implemented in a foundation Social Justice for Social Work Practice course using place-based education principles as an illustration of concrete strategies for incorporating environmental justice into social justice curricula.     

A Framework for Looking at Causes of Changes in Ex-nuptial Birthrates

An attempt is made, firstly, to sort out and summarize the causal influences mentioned in the literature on the subject of ex-nuptiality; and secondly, to propose an initial step toward theory development in the area.     

Reports of Conferences,Institutes, and Seminars

Abstract

This column covers several conference sessions from the 14th annual Electronic Resources & Libraries Conference, providing guidance on how to navigate ebook duplication, improving documentation and workflows, implementing OpenAthens, and experiences with Project SILLVR (Streaming Interlibrary Loan Video Resources)and knowledge bases and related tools (KBART) automation. There is also a report from IFLA’s SIG Library Publishing Mid-Term meeting, which was an ideological meeting in nature, discussing community building, resource sharing, and status updates. A report from the 2018 Charleston Conference is also included.