An investigation of children's peer trust across culture: is the composition of peer trust universal?

The components of children's trust in same-gender peers (trust beliefs, ascribed trustworthiness, and dyadic reciprocal trust) were examined in samples of 8- to 11-year-olds from the UK, Italy, and Japan. Trust was assessed by children's ratings of the extent to which same-gender classmates kept promises and kept secrets. Social relations analyses confirmed that children from each country showed significant: (a) actor variance demonstrating reliable individual differences in trust beliefs, (b) partner variance demonstrating reliable individual differences in ascribed trustworthiness, and (c ) relationship variance demonstrating unique relationships between interaction partners. Cultural differences in trust beliefs and ascribed trustworthiness also emerged and these differences were attributed to the tendency for children from cultures that value societal goals to share personal information with the peer group

Intelligent and adaptive tutoring for active learning and training environments

Active learning facilitated through interactive and adaptive learning environments differs substantially from traditional instructor-oriented, classroom-based teaching. We present a Web-based e-learning environment that integrates knowledge learning and skills training. How these tools are used most effectively is still an open question. We propose knowledge-level interaction and adaptive feedback and guidance as central features. We discuss these features and evaluate the effectiveness of this Web-based environment, focusing on different aspects of learning behaviour and tool usage. Motivation, acceptance of the approach, learning organisation and actual tool usage are aspects of behaviour that require different evaluation techniques to be used

A theory of markets with return-seeking firms

Neoclassical theory erroneously makes the assumption that firms maximise profits on a fixed endowment of physical capital leading to the pervasive rule of thumb that firms produce at a level of output where marginal revenues equal marginal costs. However this is merely a special case of the general goal of firms maximising returns on all costs. Firms adopting a return-seeking strategy make decisions that are consistent with fundamental assumptions of financial analysis and outperform profit maximising firms. Introducing time and a measure of incremental capital unit into the model overcomes many limitations with mainstream analysis, particularly in relation to capital investment decisions. This new framework provides a more general model with which to consider market interactions and allows for observable pricing mechanisms, such as mark-up pricing, downward sloping cost curves at the firm level, and ignorance of marginal costs by firm managers. It also reveals that the leap between the positive descriptive model and the normative welfare implications of markets outcomes cannot be bridged by the fundamental welfare theorems

Critical Thinking Activities and the Enhancement of Ethical Awareness: An application of a ‘Rhetoric of Disruption’ to the undergraduate general education classroom

This article explores how critical thinking activities and assignments can function to enhance students’ ethical awareness and sense of civic responsibility. Employing Levinas’s Othercentered theory of ethics, Burke’s notion of ‘the paradox of substance’, and Murray’s concept of ‘a rhetoric of disruption’, this article explores the nature of critical thinking activities designed to have students question their (often taken-for-granted) moral assumptions and interrogate their (often unexamined) moral identities. This article argues that such critical thinking activities can trigger a metacognitive destabilization of subjectivity, understood as a dialectical prerequisite (along with exposure to otherness) for increased ethical awareness. This theoretical model is illustrated through a discussion of three sample classroom activities designed to destabilize moral assumptions and identity, thereby clearing the way for a heightened acknowledgment of otherness. In so doing, this article provides an alternative (and dialectically inverted) strategy for addressing one of the central goals of many General Education curricula: the development of ethical awareness and civic responsibility. Rather than introducing students to alternative perspectives and divergent cultures with the expectation that heightened moral awareness will follow, this article suggests classroom activities and course assignments aimed at disrupting moral subjectivity and creating an opening in which otherness can be more fully acknowledged and the diversity of our world more fully appreciated

Goal Difficulty and Openness to Interpersonal Goal Support

When people pursue important goals, they are often surrounded by close others who could provide help and support for the achievement of these goals. The present work investigated whether people are more likely to be open to such interpersonal goal support from a romantic partner when they perceive their goals as being easy versus difficult. Using a multiple methods approach, three studies revealed that, compared with the pursuit of easy goals, when people pursue difficult goals, they are less likely to seek out and be open to support from their romantic partner. Studies 2 and 3 revealed that the effect of goal difficulty on openness to support was partially mediated by loss in self-efficacy. Finally, Study 3 revealed that lack of openness to support can have detrimental long-term consequences for the relationship, as it undermines relationship well-being

Hercules X-1: Pulsed gamma-rays detected above 150 GeV

The 1.24 second binary pulsar Her X-1, first observed in X-rays in 1971 by UHURU has now been seen as a sporadic gamma ray source from 1 TeV up to at least 500 TeV. In addition, reprocessed optical and infrared pulses are seen from the companion star HZ Herculis. Thus measurements of the Her X-1/HZ Herculis system span 15 decades in energy, rivaling both the Crab pulsar and Cygnus X-3 in this respect for a discrete galactic source

Associations between overweight and obesity and risk factors for cardiovascular disease and fatty liver in young offenders serving community orders

Purpose: The health of young offenders supervised in the community has not been previously studied. This paper describes the prevalence of overweight, obesity and obesity associated cardiovascular and hepatic risk factors in a sample of young offenders supervised in the community in New South Wales, Australia. Methods: During 2003-2005, 802 (85% male) young offenders took part in a comprehensive health survey that included direct measurement of height and weight as well as blood sampling. Results: The prevalence of combined overweight and obesity was 33.7% in boys and 35.3% in girls; both rates were higher than those of a comparable community sample. Cardiovascular risk factor prevalence was extremely high compared with other published studies, with over 90% of boys and almost 80% of girls having low levels of HDL cholesterol, and over 40% of both boys and girls having elevated LDL cholesterol. Risk factors for fatty liver disease were also prevalent with almost 15% of boys, and 30% of girls having raised ALT suggesting hepatic cell injury. Cardiovascular and fatty liver disease risk factors were significantly associated with overweight and obesity among boys, but not girls in this sample. Young people of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander decent were at no greater risk than the rest of the population. Conclusions: Young offenders are among the most disadvantaged people in Australian society and are particularly vulnerable to a range of health problems. The high prevalence of risk factors represents a substantial health burden for these young people in early adulthood. Timely intervention is required to address the complex health needs of this under-served population

FAST Mast Structural Response to Axial Loading: Modeling and Verification

The International Space Station s solar array wing mast shadowing problem is the focus of this paper. A building-block approach to modeling and analysis is pursued for the primary structural components of the solar array wing mast structure. Starting with an ANSYS (Registered Trademark) finite element model, a verified MSC.Nastran (Trademark) model is established for a single longeron. This finite element model translation requires the conversion of several modeling and analysis features for the two structural analysis tools to produce comparable results for the single-longeron configuration. The model is then reconciled using test data. The resulting MSC.Nastran (Trademark) model is then extended to a single-bay configuration and verified using single-bay test data. Conversion of the MSC. Nastran (Trademark) single-bay model to Abaqus (Trademark) is also performed to simulate the elastic-plastic longeron buckling response of the single bay prior to folding

Regional Integration of Equity Markets in Sub-Saharan Africa

Equity markets in developing and emerging economies have grown in number and importance as a result of financial market globalisation. However, their role in economic growth and development is enhanced if nascent markets are integrated with well-established ones. Market integration, measured by the transmission of returns volatility, is identified across a sample of SSA countries, using a unique dataset. Evidence for potential integration between financial markets in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is found. Spillovers are found across markets, some unidirectional and others bi-directional. However, continued illiquidity and incomplete institutions indicate that an integrated financial community remains premature, and considerable regulatory reform and harmonisation will be necessary for this to succeed