The Authoritarian Syndrome in Attitudes and Educational Practices of Russian Parents

AbstractIn the structure of indicators of authoritarianism, a central position is occupied by rigidity of educational attitudes as a manifestation of the syndrome of authoritarian aggression. This article addresses educational attitudes of mothers, as well as their idea of the role of a father in families with varied economic resources. The study involved 500 mothers, selected basing on the criterion of self-identification of their economic status (low and medium), under the age of 45, with children aged from 1.5 to 3 years old. Educational attitudes were estimated on the basis of views characterizing typical principals of upbringing of children in everyday family life. This study highlighted that authoritarian attitudes are characteristic of low resource families, rather than of families with medium resources. A similar tendency can be traced in mothers’ perception of fathers in these families: as more authoritarian and more democratic, sensitive, partner-oriented in communication with their children, respectively. This work suggests the directions in correction of authoritarian educational attitudes

Influence of Cultural Resources of Mothers over Parenting Values in Russian Families

AbstractThe purpose of the study is a comparative analysis of the complex of economic, cultural and psychological resources of mothers of three groups focused on different values in child rearing (obedience “O”, curiosity “C”, sociability “S”). The study involved 500 mothers selected basing on the criterion of self-identification of their economic status (low and medium), under the age of 45, with children aged from 1.5 to 3 years old. The analysis of the results showed that a quarter of mothers (24.2%) choose obedience as the dominant value of family education. Mothers from group focused on the value of “C”, account for almost half of the sample (47.0%). A third of the respondents are aimed at instilling sociability in children (28.8%). There is a certain impact that disparity in supply of mothers with various resources has on cultivating in children values contributing to a successful adaptation. Mothers instilling in children curiosity and sociability have richer cultural resources. They are also characterized by a more positive self-perception. Resulting differences are explained by both objective factors characteristic for women from the group focused on instilling obedience - a lower level of education, qualifications, financial situation, small social experience, less intensive cultural practices, and by subjective characteristics - a lower self-esteem, self-doubt, insufficient personal maturity. The experience of relationships of mothers with their own parents is further employed in the process of upbringing of children. The paper suggests directions of correction of social and cultural attitudes and strategies of child-rearing

Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Predictors of the Unifed State Exam Performance of Students from Schools with Regular and Advanced Mathematical Curricula

Background. Exams such as the SAT, ACT, and GCSE are used to give an account of educational outcomes and provide a unified criterion for university admission. The Unified State Exam (USE) aims to fulfill these functions in Russia. All Russian students take two compulsory USE exams, mathematics and Russian, at the end of their school education. Objective. Variability in the mathematics and Russian USE scores is vast, both across and within schools. Our study investigated potential sources of this variability. Design. The sample included 196 students from regular schools (non-selected students) and 306 students from schools with advanced mathematical curriculum (selected students). The mathematical ability (numerical representation, mathematical fluency), intelligence, basic cognitive functions (working memory, reaction time), and mathematical self-efficacy of the students were assessed. We applied structural equation modeling to estimate the proportion of variability in the mathematics and Russian USE scores explained by cognitive predictors and mathematical self-efficacy. Results. In the whole sample, cognitive predictors and mathematical self-efficacy explained 54% of the variation in the mathematics USE scores and 30% of the variation in the Russian USE scores. These effects diminished after the data were analyzed in two groups separately, suggesting that the associations between predictors and exam scores were to a large extent accounted for by group differences (students from regular and specialized schools). Conclusion. The students from the schools with an advanced mathematical curriculum exhibited better cognitive performance, appraised their mathematical abilities higher, and achieved higher mathematics and Russian USE scores, compared to the students from regular schools. Within the groups, cognitive and non-cognitive predictors explained a small part of the variation of the mathematics and Russian USE scores

Family leadership and environmental sustainability: a case of the single fathers in Russia

Nowadays, the traditional perception of the family is changing. However, understanding children preferences and shaping their views of the world still remain the key prerequisites for the environmental sustainability. The purpose of the article is to analyze models of single fatherhood, to study the motivation and structure of factors that determine the involved fatherhood making, the specifics of mother’s and parent family’s influence on the paternal practices implementation. Our research testifies to the fact that single fathers tend to become family leaders and undertake responsibility related to childcare in the context of transforming marital and family relations as well as facing global environmental issues. The results of the study show that single fatherhood is usually a forced situation caused by death or severe illness of the mother, her deviant behavior and leaving the family, deprivation of parental rights, divorce consequences, long-term separation of spouses, use of modern reproductive technologies of surrogacy. It is concluded that the scenarios of the single fatherhood becoming – planned or casual – are associated with the cause of the child appearance in the family. The significant differences are found in the social and cultural capital of the single fathers which might have different impacts on the level of environmental education they can pass on to their children

Mixtures of 3D disperse systems with nano- and micro-particles: Optical characterization

Multiparameter analysis of simultaneous optical data for systems of nano- and/or micro-particles (3D disperse systems, dispersions, colloids, ensembles) by presentation of system characteristics as N-dimensional vectors of optical parameters (ND-vectors) can help to elucidate changes in the state of the particles in systems. In this paper, the application of the ND-vector approach is shown on the examples of dispersion mixtures: a mixture of influenza virus particles with albumin proteins (as a model of dispersions at the process of vaccine production); a mixture of coli bacillus and clay dispersions (as natural water model). This approach can serve as an on-line control platform for the management of technological processes with mixtures

Interpolymer Complexes of Poly(methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) and Polyacids

It has been shown that macromolecules of poly(methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) can form hydrogen bonded interpolymer complexes with homo- and copolymers of carboxylic acids and with poly(vinylphosphonic) acid in aqueous solutions. Polarized luminescence and IR spectroscopy were applied in the investigation. Nanosecond relaxation times characterizing the mobility of the chain fragments for the initial luminescent labeled polymers were determined and their changes by a factor of 2–50 were established during the formation of an interpolymer complex. Hydrogen bonds play a dominant role in the formation of these complexes. Hydrophobic interactions serve as an additional stabilizing factor. It is established that poly(methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine)/poly(vinylphosphonic acid) complex forms a looser structure in comparison with those for polycarboxylic acids as result of electrostatic repulsion between charged groups

Holmium-Containing Metal-Organic Frameworks as Modifiers for PEBA-Based Membranes

Recently, there has been an active search for new modifiers to create hybrid polymeric materials for various applications, in particular, membrane technology. One of the topical modifiers is metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which can significantly alter the characteristics of obtained mixed matrix membranes (MMMs). In this work, new holmium-based MOFs (Ho-MOFs) were synthesized for polyether block amide (PEBA) modification to develop novel MMMs with improved properties. The study of Ho-MOFs, polymers and membranes was carried out by methods of X-ray phase analysis, scanning electron and atomic force microscopies, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, dynamic and kinematic viscosity, static and dynamic light scattering, gel permeation chromatography, thermogravimetric analysis and contact angle measurements. Synthesized Ho-MOFs had different X-ray structures, particle forms and sizes depending on the ligand used. To study the effect of Ho-MOF modifier on membrane transport properties, PEBA/Ho-MOFs membrane retention capacity was evaluated in vacuum fourth-stage filtration for dye removal (Congo Red, Fuchsin, Glycine thymol blue, Methylene blue, Eriochrome Black T). Modified membranes demonstrated improved flux and rejection coefficients for dyes containing amino groups: Congo Red, Fuchsin (PEBA/Ho-1,3,5-H3btc membrane possessed optimal properties: 81% and 68% rejection coefficients for Congo Red and Fuchsin filtration, respectively, and 0.7 L/(m2s) flux)