A Correlational Study of Hispanic High School English Language Learners\u27 English Proficiency and Mathematical Resilience

This quantitative study investigates the relationship between Hispanic high school English language learners’ English language proficiency and mathematical resilience using a Pearson’s r and Spearman’s r correlation tests. The sample population consists of 9th-12th grade students enrolled in a large public high school in the northeast whose native language is Spanish. English proficiency is measured using the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test. Mathematic resilience is measured using the Mathematical Resilience Scale. The results of this study establish a positive relationship between Hispanic high school students’ level of English language proficiency and mathematical resilience, particularly amongst males. These results can help to inform educators of how to best support the needs of a diverse population of students. The results may also influence curriculum changes in mathematics courses to include explicit instruction in the growth of mathematical resilience

THE MENTAL HEALTH OF MOTHERS AND FATHERS BEFORE AND AFTER COHABITATION AND MARITAL DISSOLUTION

Using data from years one and three of the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study, changes in depressive and anxious symptoms are compared for mothers and fathers who: 1) dissolve a cohabitating union versus remain intact; 2) dissolve a marital union versus remain intact; and 3) dissolve a cohabiting as compared to a marital union. In order to take into account potential sources of third variable bias from selection factors that differentiate those who are in cohabitations from those who are in marriages, mothers and fathers were matched on several sociodemographic control variables that research has demonstrated to be related to union formation and mental health outcomes. Results indicated that fathers who dissolve cohabitating or marital unions have greater increases in depressive and anxious symptoms over time than those who remain in their unions. In contrast, mothers increased in depressive and anxious symptoms, regardless of the type or stability of the union. For both mothers and fathers, no differences were found in change in mental health by type of union dissolution. In this low income sample of parents, results suggest that the impact of cohabitation and marital dissolution on mental health are similar in magnitude.Depression, fragile families, marriage, cohabitation, income, mental health

Digital Storytelling At An Educational Nonprofit: A Case Study And Genre-Informed Implementation Analysis

Digital stories--two- to five-minute videos consisting of a first-person voiceover set to a slideshow of personal photographs--combine personal reflection with digital technologies. The stories and the process of making them appeal to many organizations, particularly those with a mission of outreach or education. However, despite the inexpensive and fairly easy-to-use digital technologies involved, organizations have typically had difficulty implementing the practice. This dissertation presents a case study of one organization that hoped to implement digital storytelling, detailing the 15 months after its Writing Director completed a digital storytelling train-the-trainer workshop. The case study organization, Tech Year, is a one-year intensive college and job-readiness program for urban 18-24 year-olds. The case study aims for descriptive detail, and reflects 300+ hours of site visits, 29 interviews, and extensive document collection. Everett Rogers\u27 theory of organizational innovation is used to frame the case study description. Tech Year hoped to integrate digital storytelling into its Business Writing curriculum and imagined a number of other utilities for digital storytelling related to fundraising, recruiting, and student development. During the 15-month research period, a wide range of digital storytelling-related activity happened at Tech Year, including a pilot of digital storytelling in the Business Writing classroom. At the conclusion of the study, however, Tech Year had not settled on a sustainable organizational use or uses for digital storytelling, and organizational members were uncertain whether the practice would persist. Besides telling an implementation story, the study has a second major aim: to explore theoretically informed reflective tools that might be used by researchers and organizations to assess and direct ongoing digital storytelling implementation efforts. A novel methodology that examines digital storytelling pilots through the lens of North American genre theory, called genre-informed implementation analysis, is both described and applied to the case of Tech Year

IMPLICATIONS OF VIOLENT AND CONTROLLING UNIONS FOR MOTHERS’ MENTAL HEALTH AND LEAVING

We used two waves of the Fragile Families Study (N = 2639) to examine links between control and violence with maternal mental health and relationship dissolution. Mothers in controlling-only or controlling and violent unions had more symptoms of depression and anxiety and greater odds of dissolution than mothers not experiencing violence or control. Over time, all mothers increased in depressive symptoms, but the magnitude of the increase in depressive symptoms was greatest for mothers in violent and controlling stable unions followed by those in controlling-only stable unions. Mothers dissolving violent and/or controlling unions also experienced increases depressive symptoms over time. Results indicate negative consequences for both mothers who remain in and leave violent and controlling unions.

Fathers’ Involvement in Child Health Care: Associations with Prenatal Involvement, Parents’ Beliefs, and Maternal Gatekeeping

Using data from 182 dual-earner couples experiencing the transition to parenthood, this study examined associations between prenatal involvement, gender role beliefs, and maternal gatekeeping and new fathers’ involvement in child health care. Results indicated that prenatal father involvement was associated with both fathers’ direct engagement in child health care and fathers’ perceived influence in child health-related decision-making. Fathers also demonstrated greater direct engagement in child health care when mothers held more nontraditional beliefs about gender roles. Moreover, when mothers were more encouraging of fathers’ involvement in childrearing, fathers felt more influential in child health-related decision-making, whereas when mothers engaged in greater gate closing behavior, fathers with more traditional gender role beliefs felt less influential in child health-related decision-making. This study suggests that fathers’ prenatal involvement, mothers’ beliefs, and maternal gatekeeping may play a role in the development of new fathers’ involvement in child health care at the transition to parenthood

Xenopus: An ideal system for chemical genetics

Chemical genetics, or chemical biology, has become an increasingly powerful method for studying biological processes. The main objective of chemical genetics is the identification and use of small molecules that act directly on proteins, allowing rapid and reversible control of activity. These compounds are extremely powerful tools for researchers, particularly in biological systems that are not amenable to genetic methods. In addition, identification of small molecule interactions is an important step in the drug discovery process. Increasingly, the African frog Xenopus is being used for chemical genetic approaches. Here, we highlight the advantages of Xenopus as a first-line in vivo model for chemical screening as well as for testing reverse engineering approaches. genesis 50:207–218, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Transactive memory systems scale for couples: Development and validation

People in romantic relationships can develop shared memory systems by pooling their cognitive resources, allowing each person access to more information but with less cognitive effort. Research examining such memory systems in romantic couples largely focuses on remembering word lists or performing lab-based tasks, but these types of activities do not capture the processes underlying couples' transactive memory systems, and may not be representative of the ways in which romantic couples use their shared memory systems in everyday life. We adapted an existing measure of transactive memory systems for use with romantic couples (TMSS-C), and conducted an initial validation study. In total, 397 participants who each identified as being a member of a romantic relationship of at least 3 months duration completed the study. The data provided a good fit to the anticipated three-factor structure of the components of couples' transactive memory systems (specialization, credibility and coordination), and there was reasonable evidence of both convergent and divergent validity, as well as strong evidence of test-retest reliability across a 2-week period. The TMSS-C provides a valuable tool that can quickly and easily capture the underlying components of romantic couples' transactive memory systems. It has potential to help us better understand this intriguing feature of romantic relationships, and how shared memory systems might be associated with other important features of romantic relationships

The impact of premarital cycling on early marriage

Using a sample of 564 newlywed couples and the enduring dynamics model of marriage (Caughlin, Huston, & Houts, 2000), we examined the impact of premarital cycling (breaking up and renewing) on the entrance into marriage and relationship dynamics over the first five years. Consistent with the enduring dynamics model, results demonstrated cyclical couples (compared to non-cyclical couples) exhibited worse adjustment on a variety of relationship indicators at the entrance to marriage and were more likely to experience a trial separation over the first five years. Dyadic parallel process growth curve analysis further revealed that premarital cycling predicted lower initial relationship satisfaction that was sustained over the first five years of marriage. Implications for theory, research, and intervention with premarital couples are discussed. These results provide evidence that courtships characterized by breakups and renewals represent a relational vulnerability with negative implications extending years into the future

Fertility, Living Arrangements, Care and Mobility

There are four main interconnecting themes around which the contributions in this book are based. This introductory chapter aims to establish the broad context for the chapters that follow by discussing each of the themes. It does so by setting these themes within the overarching demographic challenge of the twenty-first century – demographic ageing. Each chapter is introduced in the context of the specific theme to which it primarily relates and there is a summary of the data sets used by the contributors to illustrate the wide range of cross-sectional and longitudinal data analysed

More than One Way to be Happy: A Typology of Marital Happiness

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/100129/1/famp12028.pd