4,125 research outputs found

    Paradigm or Paradox? Student Consumerism and Learning at a Liberal Arts Institution

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    Existing literature widely asserts the increasing prevalence of consumer-minded students, often presenting consumerism and learning as opposed. The purpose of the study is to better understand the relationship between consumer and learner orientations and explore aspects of a liberal arts education affecting each. To this end, the study employed a mixed methods embedded sequential design. A survey—utilizing both quantitative learner and consumer scales along with qualitative open-ended items—was administered to students. A subsequent focus group further clarified and explored survey results. Quantitative data revealed students identify more strongly as learners than consumers but still identify positively as consumers. Furthermore, a correlation revealed a weak inverse relationship between the two factors. In the qualitative data, students spoke of learning and consumerism as strongly opposed, thus challenging the quantitative findings. Students identified community, professors, and faith as most impactful to forming learner identities. Parents, society, and high tuition strongly influenced consumer orientations. Together, the qualitative and quantitative data revealed the inherent complexity in the relationship between consumerism and learning. Therefore, the importance of appropriately acknowledging both learning and consumerism when communicating with students serves as the basis for implications discussed

    Exploring Body Comparison Tendencies: Women Are Self-Critical Whereas Men Are Self-Hopeful

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    Our study examined similarities and differences in women’s and men’s comparison tendencies and perfection beliefs when evaluating their face, body shape, and physical abilities, as well as how these tendencies and beliefs relate to their body esteem. College students (90 women and 88 men) completed the Body Esteem Scale (Franzoi & Shields, 1984) and answered questions concerning their social comparison and temporal comparison tendencies related to face, body shape, and physical abilities evaluations as well as personal perfection body beliefs. As predicted, women were more likely than men to compare their face and bodies to other same-sex persons whom they perceived as having either similar or better physical qualities than themselves in those body domains, with their most likely comparison tendency being upward social comparison. More men than women held body-perfection beliefs for all three body domains, and men were most likely to rely on future temporal comparison when evaluating their body shape. Comparison tendencies and perfection beliefs also were differentially related to women\u27s and men\u27s body esteem; whereas women rely on self-critical social comparison strategies associated with negative body esteem, men’s comparison strategies and perfection beliefs are more self-hopeful. Implications for practitioners treating body-image issues are discussed

    House Price Changes and Idiosyncratic Risk: The Impact of Property Characteristics

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    While the average change in house prices is related to changes in fundamentals or perhaps market-wide bubbles, not all houses in a market appreciate at the same rate.The primary focus of our study is to investigate the reasons for these variations in price changes among houses within a market. We draw on two theories for guidance, one related to the optimal search strategy for sellers of atypical dwellings and the other focusing on the bargaining process between a seller and potential buyers. We hypothesize that houses will appreciate at different rates depending on the characteristics of the property and the change in the strength of the housing market. These hypotheses are supported using data from three New Zealand housing markets.Atypicality; Bargaining; Housing Risk; House Price Appreciation; Search Models

    Breaking the silence: Disordered eating and big five traits in college men

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    Men remain largely underrepresented in the eating disorder literature and few studies have investigated risk factors for disordered eating among men. The current study examined associations between Big Five personality traits and eating disorder symptoms in a sample of college men (N = 144). Participants completed the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale and Ten Item Personality Inventory online. Results suggested that openness was positively associated with purging-type behaviors and that emotional stability was positively related to symptoms of anorexia nervosa and global eating pathology. Findings highlight the prevalence of eating disorder symptoms among college men and suggest that these symptoms are associated with a different constellation of personality traits than is typically reported among women. Implications for targeted prevention and intervention programs and future research are discussed

    The Common Sense of Counseling Psychology: Introducing

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    The goal of therapy is typically to improve clients’ self-management of their problems, not only during the course of therapy but also after therapy ends. Although it seems obvious that therapists are interested in improving client’s self-management, the psychotherapy literature has little to say on the topic. This article introduces Leventhal’s Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation, a theoretical model of the self-management of health, and applies the model to the therapeutic process. The Common-Sense Model proposes that people develop illness representations of health threats and these illness representations guide self-management. The model has primarily been used to understand how people self-manage physical health problems, we propose it may also be useful to understand self-management of mental health problems. The Common-Sense Model’s strengths-based perspective is a natural fit for the work of counseling psychologists. In particular, the model has important practical implicationsfor addressing how clients understand mental health problems over the course of treatment and self-manage these problems during and after treatment

    Tree Responses to an Invasive Sap-Feeding Insect

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    Although sap-feeding insects are known to negatively affect plant growth and physiology, less is known about sap-feeding insects on woody plants. Adelges tsugae (Annand Hemiptera: Adelgidae), the hemlock woolly adelgid, is an invasive sap-feeding insect in eastern North America that feeds on and kills Tsuga canadensis (L. Carrière), eastern hemlock. Newly hatched adelgid nymphs crawl to young unattacked tissue, settle and immediately enter diapause (aestivation) while attached to hemlock in summer. We assessed the effect of A. tsugae infestation on T. canadensis growth and physiology by analyzing hemlock growth on lateral and terminal branches, water potential, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, and foliar nitrogen (%N). A. tsugae infestation greatly decreased terminal and lateral growth of eastern hemlock. In addition, A. tsugae presence reduced photosynthesis by 10 % in September and 36 % in October. Adelgid-infested hemlocks also exhibited signs of water stress that included notable reductions in water potential and stomatal conductance. These responses shed light on possible mechanisms of adelgid-induced mortality

    The Effects of Olfactory Enrichment on Shelter Dog Behavior

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    Shelter environments are stressful for dogs due to loud noises and unfamiliar surroundings. Previous research showed that exposure to some scents resulted in reductions in activity and vocalizations in shelter dogs. We investigated the effects of two calming (lavender and vetiver) and two stimulating (lemon and rosemary) essential oils on crate position and active, resting, and stress behaviors. There were 8, 5-min observations conducted each week per dog, split between baseline and scent exposure. Our analysis using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test found that dogs exposed to lavender (n = 13), lemon (n = 10), rosemary (n = 13), and vetiver (n = 12) did not show a significant difference in crate position or amount of time they engaged in stress, resting, or active behaviors compared to baseline. The lack of behavioral improvement indicates that scent enrichment alone may not be enough to have a significant effect on shelter dog behavior
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